India's 1st monkeypox death? Deceased man tested positive in UAE
A 22-year-old man, who died in Kerala's Thrissur on Saturday, tested positive for monkeypox in the United Arab Emirates before traveling to India, said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. She said the state administration would confirm the infection only after receiving swab results from the National Institute of Virology, Pune. George stated the deceased's relatives only revealed his UAE medical report following his death.
- With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring monkeypox a "global public health emergency," many are wondering if it'll be the next epidemic India should worry about.
- The arrival of monkeypox has prompted health authorities to install surveillance systems and impose a high alert in several states, especially after India recently reported its fourth confirmed case: a 34-year-old Delhi man with no foreign travel history.
"We will inquire how he (the deceased) came out of the airport and suppressed his health details like this," George said. "We have prepared a detailed route map of the deceased...many people have already been quarantined," she explained. She added the patient returned to India on July 22 and was sent to a private hospital five days later after developing a high fever.
"Monkeypox is not a fatal disease. We have to find out how the death took place. We will also examine why there was a delay in hospitalization," George said, adding doctors informed her the patient was suffering from other ailments, too. "The strain identified here is not that virulent, but it spreads fast. Since the infection is fast, we have to take adequate precautions."
According to one of his relatives, who wished to remain anonymous, three of his friends received him as he arrived at the Kozhikode airport early on the morning of July 22. In the following three days, the man allegedly visited several places and even played football. On Monday, the health minister will chair an urgent meeting of health officials over the issue in Thrissur.
The deceased reportedly only informed his mother and sister about his UAE test report after his health worsened. According to the relative, he was initially admitted to a private hospital in Chavakkad and later transferred to another hospital in Thrissur after his condition deteriorated. According to a Kozhikode airport officer, who requested anonymity, the patient eluded the airport's screening and thermal tests.
The deceased's symptoms were akin to monkeypox, according to doctors who treated him. "There were no red marks or blisters when he got admitted. But later such symptoms started appearing on his body. Since he came from the high-risk UAE, he was admitted to an isolation ward from day one (sic)," a doctor who reportedly treated him stated on the condition of anonymity.
According to research published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, 98% of affected patients surveyed were homosexual or bisexual males, and 95% of infections were spread through sexual activity. Monkeypox, as per the experts, creates a blistering rash and is spread mostly through intimate physical contact, and the disease has not yet been classified as a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
The WHO has advised against assuming that monkeypox can just harm one group. It emphasized the disease spreads through frequent skin-to-skin contact, as well as droplets or touching infected bedding or towels in a family environment. "Anyone exposed can get monkeypox," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently stated. He urged countries to "take action" to reduce the risk of transmission to other vulnerable groups.
According to Ghebreyesus, 78 countries have now reported more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox cases to the WHO, which is "a matter of concern." Nearly 75% of these cases occurred in the Americas and 25% in Europe. Since May, there have been five deaths associated with monkeypox, and about 10% of individuals who have the illness require hospitalization to treat it, as per Ghebreyesus.
