Health
India Confirms Asia’s First Monkeypox Death In Kerala
(CTN News) – In India’s current outbreak of monkeypox, a young man died from the disease on Monday, the fourth confirmed death.
There were two monkeypox-related deaths reported in Spain last week, and one in Brazil. It is also the first death in Asia.
On July 23, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency.
Several people who had come into contact with the 22-year-old died on Saturday, Kerala’s revenue minister told reporters.
Despite reaching Kerala on July 21, the man was not taken to a hospital until July 26, when he displayed fatigue and fever,” Minister K.
Rajan said, adding that there was no need to panic as none of the primary contacts had shown symptoms.
Veena George, Kerala’s health minister, told reporters on Sunday that the man’s family informed authorities the previous day that he tested positive in the United Arab Emirates.
At least five monkeypox cases have been reported in India, but the federal health ministry had no comment on the death other than to say a task force of senior officials had been formed to monitor monkeypox cases.
Late last month, the WHO reported that over 18,000 monkeypox cases had been reported in 78 countries, mostly in Europe.
The monkeypox virus causes a less severe disease than smallpox, which occurs mainly in central and western Africa. Humans contract the disease from animals.
Human-to-human transmission occurs through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin or mucosa, such as in the mouth or throat, respiratory droplets, and contaminated objects.
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