Kerala reports India's third monkeypox case in man who returned from UAE

A 35-year-old man, who came to Kerala from UAE earlier this month, has become the third person to test positive for monkeypox in India as well as in the state.

Health minister Veena George said the Malappuram native arrived in the southern state on 6 July and was undergoing treatment at the Manjeri Medical College there. His health condition is stable, she added. The minister also said all those who were in close contact with the patient are being closely monitored.

The country's first case of monkeypox was detected in the southern district of Kollam on 14 July, another expatriate who had returned from the UAE. He is undergoing treatment at the Thiruvananthapuram medical college and hospital. The Union health ministry had rushed an expert medical team to the state on 16 July and its members visited the house of the infected, medical college and other places. Later, doctors found that he was infected with the West African strain of the virus.

On Monday, Kerala reported the second case of monkeypox in the state's Kannur district. George indicated that the condition of the patient admitted to the government medical college hospital in Pariyaran is stable.

According to experts, the monkeypox virus mutates at a higher rate but it is treatable and the treatment varies with symptoms. They said the infection starts with fever, headache and flu. As the infection turns acute, red lesions appear on the body and triggers itching like chicken pox.

They said the incubation period of the virus ranges from five to 21 days. The transmission will happen only through close contact like touching, sharing clothes, towels or sex with the infected person as secretion from lesions carry a high virus load.