India has reported the first monkeypox-related death after a 22-year-old UAE-returned youth died in Kerala hospital.
Kerala government said that while the results of the test done in the UAE confirmed the presence of the monkeypox virus, a probe would be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.
“The youth had no symptoms of monkeypox. He had been admitted to a hospital with symptoms of encephalitis and fatigue. His relatives handed over the test result only on Saturday. A high-level probe would be held into the death as monkeypox has a very low fatality rate,’’ said Kerala Health Minister Veena George.
The state health department has sent his samples to the National Institute of Virology’s Alappuzha unit in Kerala.
The burial of the youth was held as per the protocol for the disease. All his primary contacts have been put under observation.
India has so far had four confirmed monkeypox cases, three of them in Kerala. The patient who had the first reported case was discharged from the hospital on Saturday.
The monkeypox outbreak has seen more than 22,000 cases in nearly 80 countries since May. There have been 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mostly in Nigeria and Congo.
