Monkeypox horrors enter South Asia, confirms first death in India

KOCHI, INDIA: On Monday, India announced the death of its first Monkeypox victim, a young man in the southern state of Kerala, the outbreak’s only other known fatality.

Brazil reported its first monkeypox-related death last week, while Spain recorded two. A first in Asia, the death occurred in India. On July 23, the World Health Organization deemed the outbreak to be a global health emergency.

Kerala’s revenue minister informed reporters that the 22-year-old Indian man had passed away on Saturday and that the administration has isolated 21 other people who had come into contact with him.

Also Read: What is Monkey Pox? Everything to know about the virus!

“The person reached Kerala on July 21 but visited a hospital only on July 26 when he displayed fatigue and fever,” Minister K. Rajan said, adding that there was no reason to panic as none of the primary contacts were showing symptoms.

The man’s relatives informed authorities the day before that he had tested positive in the United Arab Emirates before coming back to India, Kerala’s health minister Veena George told reporters on Sunday.

The government of India’s federal health ministry declined to comment on the fatality other than to note that a task force of senior officials had been established to keep track of Monkeypox cases in the nation, where at least five infections have been reported by local media.

Also Read: Govt to start covid-19 vaccination of children over 5

Total cases of Monkeypox worldwide

The majority of the 18,000 cases of Monkeypox, which were reported by 78 nations late last month, were in Europe, according to the WHO.

It claims that the Monkeypox virus primarily affects central and west Africa. And it causes a sickness with milder symptoms than smallpox. Animals can spread the sickness to people. Contact with bodily fluids, sores on the skin or on internal mucosal surfaces, such as those in the mouth or throat, respiratory droplets, and infected objects are all ways that human-to-human transmission can occur.

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