India has announced its first case of monkeypox, a 35-year-old man showing symptoms after a trip to the Middle East. The federal government has sent a multidisciplinary team to the patient in the state of Kerala (south), according to an official statement.
The man, who traveled from the United Arab Emirates to Kerala on Tuesday, was in stable condition and was in solitary confinement in hospital, Kerala Health Minister Veena George told reporters on Thursday.
“He is stable and all his vital signs are normal. We have asked all districts to be on alert,” she said.
The patient’s contact cases have been isolated and passengers who shared his flight have been asked to monitor the appearance of any symptoms.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease usually caused by a virus transmitted to humans from infected animals. But in the current outbreak, human-to-human transmission is at the forefront. A resurgence of infections has been reported since early May outside central and western Africa where the disease has long been endemic.
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So far, cases confirmed outside endemic areas generally show mild symptoms and no deaths have been reported.
The disease is considered less dangerous and less contagious than smallpox, eradicated more than 40 years ago.
It first results in a high fever and quickly evolves into a rash, with the formation of scabs. Most often benign, it generally heals spontaneously after two to three weeks.
The majority of reported cases so far involve men who have sex with men. If it is not a sexually transmitted infection, transmission can occur through close contact such as having sex.
In endemic countries, the mortality rate is between 1 and 10% depending on the variant – there are two. Medical treatment can significantly reduce the risk.
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