Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox, fever and rashes, but far less severe. (Representative Image)
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.
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.
The virus causes fever symptoms besides distinctive bumpy rashes. That is usually manageable, though one of two strains is more dangerous. The Congo strain causes death in up to 10 per cent of the patients. The West African strain is milder, with a fatality rate of around 1 per cent.
It was first found in monkeys in 1958, hence the name. Rodents are now seen as the main source of transmission. It spreads through close contact, both from animals and, less commonly, between humans.
The illness is usually mild, manageable with medical help. (Representative Image)
Two months ago, scientists were alarmed after a few cases of monkeypox — which hardly occurs outside Africa's western and central regions — were reported or suspected in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain.
It puts virologists on alert also because it is in the smallpox family. Smallpox was eradicated by vaccination in 1980, and the shot has since been phased out. But that vaccine also protects against monkeypox, so the winding down of vaccination could be behind new cases, experts have said.