The Kerala health department on Monday confirmed that the youth who died on Thrissur on Saturday had succumbed to monkeypox. The samples were sent to NIV Pune and the results came on Monday as positive.
This is India’s first confirmed monkeypox death and likely the fourth death outside Africa. The country has reported a total of five cases of the disease so far.
On Sunday, state Health Minister Veena George had revealed that the 22-year-old youth had tested positive for monkeypox in the UAE before he reached Kerala on July 22.
22-year-old Hafeez passed away on Sunday amid suspicions that he succumbed to monkeypox. Soon, the health authorities swung into action and started preparing a detailed contact list of him after his arrival at the Kozhikode airport. It has been found out that four of his friends and his family members were also there, to receive him at the airport.
The next day he was out playing football with his friends. On July 27, he collapsed and was taken to a local clinic and from there he was moved to a hospital, where he was undergoing treatement and passed away on Sunday.
The Union Health Ministry has constituted a task force to closely monitor the emerging situation and to decide on response initiatives to tackle the spread of the disease.
It will also provide guidance to the government on expansion of diagnostic facilities in the country and explore emerging trends related to vaccination for the disease, the sources told PTI.
The National Aids Control Organisation and the Directorate General of Health Services in the Health Ministry have been asked to work on a targeted communication strategy to promote timely reporting, detection of cases and management of cases, an official source said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern. Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries.
The Union Health Ministry has undertaken a number of initiatives which includes strengthening of health screening at Points of Entry and operationalisation of 15 laboratories under the ICMR to undertake testing for monkeypox disease.
It also issued comprehensive guidelines on the disease covering both public health as well as clinical management aspects and regular interaction with states were held virtually as well as Central multidisciplinary teams were deployed to affected states.
According to the WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis — a virus transmitted to humans from animals — with symptoms similar to smallpox although clinically less severe.
Monkeypox typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeks.
The ‘Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease’ issued by the Centre, stated that human-to-human transmission occurs primarily through large respiratory droplets generally requiring prolonged close contact.
It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesions, and indirect contact with lesion material such as through contaminated clothing or linen of an infected person. Animal-to-human transmission may occur by bite or scratch of infected animals or through bush meat preparation.
The incubation period is usually from six to 13 days and the case fatality rate of monkeypox has historically ranged up to 11 per cent in the general population and higher among children. In recent times, the case fatality rate has been around three to six per cent.
The symptoms include lesions which usually begin within one to three days from the onset of fever, lasting for around two to four weeks and are often described as painful until the healing phase when they become itchy. A notable predilection for palm and soles is characteristic of monkeypox, the guidelines stated.
