Kerala on July 18 reported a second case of monkeypox, four days after it reported the country's first infection caused due to the contagious viral disease.
The second positive case has been confirmed in the Kannur district, the state health ministry said in a statement. The patient is currently undergoing treatment at Pariyaram Medical College, and the family members are being monitored for symptoms.
"The 31-year-old man from Kannur is currently undergoing treatment at Pariyaram Medical College. The patient's health condition is reported to be satisfactory. Those in close contact with him have been put under surveillance," news agency ANI quoted Kerala Health Minister Veena George as saying.
On July 14, the state government said that the samples of a person, who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was admitted with Monkeypox-related symptoms, was confirmed as positive by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology.
The patient is a 35-year-old man, a native of Kollam district, and had returned via the Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram flight on July 12, officials had said.
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"There are 11 primary contacts which include his parents, those who sat next to him on the plane, the taxi driver who took him from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam, the auto driver who took him to the hospital, and the cabin crew of the flight," the state health minister had said.
After the first monkeypox case was reported, the Union health ministry sent a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Kerala to collaborate with the state authorities in instituting public health measures in view of the confirmed case of monkeypox in Kollam district.
On July 15, the Kerala government announced a red alert for monkeypox in all districts of the state, as it asked the authorities to remain vigilant.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
(With PTI inputs)
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