India confirms Asia's first monkeypox death

 

India confirmed Asia’s first monkeypox death on Monday. A 22-year-old man in the southern state of Kerala in India died due to monkeypox on Saturday, the first death in Asia and the fourth death outside of Africa.

Kerala health minister Veena George said that the samples of the man were sent to NIV (National Institute of Virology) in Pune, and the reports showed he tested positive for the monkeypox disease. The young man returned to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on July 21. He was admitted to a hospital in Thrissur, a city in the south Indian state of Kerala, on July 27 for severe fatigue and brain fever. He died on July 30. Later on, his family members said he tested positive for monkeypox in the UAE on July 19. The Kerala government had isolated 21 people who had come in contact with him because people who've had contact with a known monkeypox patient are usually at a higher risk.

The health minister said that the variant of monkeypox is not as contagious as Covid-19, but it does spread.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency on July 23. According to the WHO, monkeypox is a virus transmitted to humans from animals. Animal-to-human transmission can occur by bite or scratch of infected animals.

The monkeypox virus belongs to the same family as smallpox. It causes fever, chills, rash, and lesions on the face and genitals. Human-to-human transmission can also happen through close contact. The monkeypox virus has been spreading mainly in men who have sex with other men.

The WHO also said in July that 78 countries had reported more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox. Most of the cases were reported from Europe. Last week, France’s Health Minister, Francois Braun, said that nearly 1700 people were infected with monkeypox in France.