New Delhi: The growing number of monkeypox cases and several deaths reported due to the disease have raised concerns among the health fraternity and also the public. On Sunday, India became the latest country to record first death due to the monkeypox disease. A 22-year-old monkeypox patient from Kerala died at a private hospital in Thrissur.
To date, there have been more than 22,000 monkeypox cases reported in nearly 80 countries since May, with about 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mostly in Nigeria and Congo. On Friday, Brazil and Spain reported deaths linked to monkeypox, the first reported outside Africa.
First monkeypox death in India – What do we know
- A 22-year-old man who recently returned from UAE allegedly died due to monkeypox, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said.
- With the swab results of the deceased patient yet to be reported, the health minister said that the patient was young, did not suffer from any other illness or health problems and therefore, the health department was looking into the cause of his death.
- She said they will also be examining why there was delay in his hospitalisation after he arrived here from UAE on July 21.
- “This particular variant of monkeypox is not as highly virulent or contagious like COVID-19, but it does spread. Comparatively, the mortality rate of this variant is low. Therefore, we will examine why the 22-year-old man died in this particular case as he had no other illness or health problems,” the minister said.
- The minister also said that there were no studies available about this particular variant from other countries where the disease has been detected and thus, Kerala was carrying out a study on it.
How to detect if you have monkeypox
Monkeypox typically begins with fever, headache, chills, muscle aches and exhaustion about five to 21 days after exposure as per US health department. Usually within one to three days after fever appears, the patient develops a rash. The illness typically lasts two to four weeks.
People are considered infectious until all scabs from the rash have fallen off and a fresh layer of skin has formed, the department said.
With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.
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