Kerala orders high-level inquiry into suspected monkeypox death

NEW DELHI: Kerala health minister Veena George on Sunday said they will probe the reasons behind the death of a 22-year-old man who recently returned from UAE and allegedly died due to monkeypox on Saturday.
The minister said the patient was young and did not suffer from any other illness or health problems and, therefore, the health department was looking into the cause of his death. "The health department called a meeting in Punnayur. A contact list and route map of the deceased youth have been prepared," she added.
Swab samples of the deceased have been sent to the National Institute of Virology unit at Alappuzha and the reports is awaited, said state health authorities.
"A high-level inquiry will be conducted into the death in Chavakkad, Kuranjiyur. The result of the test conducted in a foreign country was positive," George said, adding that reason for delay in seeking treatment will also be investigated.

"This particular variant of monkeypox is not as highly virulent or contagious like Covid-19, but it does spread. Comparatively, the mortality rate of this variant is low. Therefore, we will examine why the 22-year-old man died in this particular case as he had no other illness or health problems," the minister said.
The man had returned from the UAE on July 21, and had no external symptoms commonly associated with monkeypox.
He was admitted to a hospital in the city on July 27 with high fever. He died three days later
After his death, the relatives of the deceased informed authorities that he might have come in contact with a monkeypox patient in the UAE.
"They showed screenshot of a test result sent by his friends from the UAE, but the screenshot did not have any name and details of the patient," officials said, adding that the test has to be conducted in India.
According to WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals), with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.
(With inputs from agencies)