Second Monkeypox Case Identified in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government has confirmed that a 26-year-old youth from Ernakulam has tested positive for Mpox (monkeypox) virus infection. It is the second reported case of Mpox in Kerala.

The recent patient returned from the UAE. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Test of his samples at the National Institute of Virology lab in Alappuzha confirmed the Mpox infection. His samples have been sent for genomic sequencing at the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

This is the second Mpox case in Kerala and third in India this year.

Earlier, a 38-year-old man from Edavanna in Malappuram, who had returned from the UAE, was tested positive of the disease on September 18. He was found to be infected by the Clade 1b strain of the virus.

Initially, Mpox was a zoonotic disease transmitted from animals to humans. It has now evolved into a disease that can spread directly between humans.