Kerala reports fifth case of monkeypox

“The infected person, a 30-year-old, had reached Kozhikode airport from UAE on July 27. He is undergoing treatment in Malappuram,’’ said a release.

Thiruvanathapuram: Kerala on Tuesday reported another monkeypox case, taking the total number of infections to five. Health Minister Veena George said the latest case was reported from Malappuram.

“The infected person, a 30-year-old, had reached Kozhikode airport from UAE on July 27. He is undergoing treatment in Malappuram. Four of his primary contacts have been put under observation,’’ said the release.

Kerala had reported India’s first monkeypox case on July 14. On July 30, the state also reported the country’s first monkeypox death, after a 22-year-old youth who returned from UAE succumbed to the infection.

The youth had tested positive for the infection in UAE on July 19 a day before he boarded the flight to Kozhikode. He was admitted to a local hospital in Thrissur on July 27, but the fact that he had tested positive for the zoonotic disease in UAE was communicated to the doctors only on July 30, the day he died.

Subsequently, his samples were sent to NIV Pune to ascertain whether he had the infection at the time of death. On Monday, NIV-Pune confirmed that the youth was a positive case. The test also revealed that he was infected with the West African variant of the infection.