Kerala reports second Mpox case

Kerala reported a confirmed case of monkeypox (Mpox) on Wednesday, marking the second known such case of infection in the country following the recent global outbreak of the disease.

Last week, a new case of Mpox emerged in the national capital when a 26-year-old resident from Hisar, Haryana, tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the LNJP Hospital, a government facility in Delhi.(This was the first such case reported in India since the WHO declared the Mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Official sources the initial case does not belong to the ongoing outbreak, as genomic sequencing indicates it is a distinct viral strain from a separate clade. Sources added that in the Kerala case, the clade was yet to be confirmed.

According to the Kerala Health Department, a 38-year-old man from Malappuram district, who had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates, tested positive for the virus. He had been hospitalised with symptoms consistent with Mpox, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said in a statement.

The minister appealed to the public, including those returning from abroad with any symptoms, to inform the department at the earliest.