Lagatar24 Desk
Thiruvananthapuram, July 14: Kerala has reported the first suspected case of monkeypox in India, according to the state’s health minister on Thursday.
A traveller from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who had just arrived in Kerala three days earlier was admitted to the hospital after exhibiting symptoms of monkeypox.
Health Minister Veena George announced today that samples from the traveller have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing. She added that the case cannot be confirmed until the test results are received.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes monkeypox as a viral zoonosis, or an animal-to-human virus transmission, with symptoms like those once experienced by people with smallpox, though less severe clinically.
Humans can contract monkeypox through coming into intimate contact with an animal or person who has the disease, as well as by coming into contact with contaminated objects. According to the WHO, the condition typically has a two- to four-week symptom duration and is self-limited.
By coming into intimate contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated objects like bedding, the monkeypox virus can spread from one person to another.
