According to officials, the patient had arrived in Kerala from abroad a few days ago and was first admitted to a private hospital after falling ill
Published Date – 17th September 2024, 11:24 AM
Malappuram: A suspected case of monkeypox infection has been reported in Kerala's Malappuram district, where a person who recently returned from abroad showed symptoms of the disease.
The district health official said the patient had arrived in Kerala a few days ago and was first admitted to a private hospital after he fell ill.
“From there, he was admitted to Manjeri Medical College. Suspecting that it could be a case of monkeypox, we sent his samples to Kozhikode Medical College for testing. The results are awaited,” the official said.
Last week, a new case of monkeypox was reported in the national capital when a 26-year-old man, resident of Hisar in Haryana, tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the Delhi government-run LNJP hospital.
The Union Health Ministry had described it as an isolated case, similar to the 30 cases reported earlier in India since July 2022, and said it was not part of the current public health emergency reported by the WHO regarding clade 1 of ampox.
It said a 26-year-old resident of Hisar had tested positive for West African Clade-2 ampox virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had last month declared ampox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) for the second time, given its prevalence and spread in many parts of Africa.
Ampox infection is usually self-limited, lasting two to four weeks, and patients usually recover with supportive medical care and management. It is spread through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient.
It usually manifests as fever, rashes and swollen lymph nodes and can lead to a variety of medical complications. The suspected monkeypox case in Kerala comes in the wake of a containment zone being set up in Malappuram district following the recent death of a 24-year-old man due to Nipah infection.
The government on Sunday confirmed that the person who died on September 9 was infected with the Nipah virus. A boy from Malappuram, who was undergoing treatment for Nipah infection, died on July 21. This was the first confirmed case of Nipah infection in the state this year.
Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Kozhikode district in 2018, 2021 and 2023 and in Ernakulam district in 2019. The presence of Nipah virus antibodies has been detected in bats in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts.