India's First Monkeypox Case In Kerala, Centre Rushes High-Level Team
NDTV
Kerala Health Minister Veena George says he landed at Thiruvananthapuram airport and all WHO guidelines are being followed
A man who returned from the UAE has tested positive for monkeypox in Kerala, state Health Minister Veena George said on Thursday. He landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on Tuesday and is "quite stable, with all vitals normal", she said. A Monkey Pox positive case is reported. He is a traveller from UAE. He reached the state on 12th July. He reached Trivandrum airport and all the steps are being taken as per the guidelines issued by WHO and ICMR: Kerala Health Minister Veena George pic.twitter.com/oufNR7usLN
The central government has sent a team, which has experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to assist the state.
"There is nothing to worry about or to be anxious about. All the steps are being taken and the patient is stable," the state minister told news agency ANI, sharing no further specifics about the patient. She said his primary contacts have been identified — his father, mother, a taxi driver, an auto driver, and 11 fellow passengers from adjacent seats. She had said hours earlier that "a person who returned from abroad" is admitted to a hospital with symptoms of monkeypox. His samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology.
Also earlier in the day, the central government wrote to states to take precautions. Concerned over cases in Europe and America — monkeypox is rarely reported outside Africa — the government had in May issued guidelines about isolation and contact-tracing.
