Kerala youth who died Saturday had tested positive for Monkeypox in UAE; sample test underway

A day after a 22-year-old man from Thrissur died due to suspected monkeypox symptoms, Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Sunday said the man had tested positive for the virus in a test in the UAE. The man, who had returned from UAE on July 21, stayed with his family members and sought treatment at a private hospital on July 27 for severe fatigue and brain fever. Health officials have sent the samples of the deceased to the National Institute of Virology at Alappuzha for confirmation.

"He had conducted tests a day before coming to India. According to the report, he is monkeypox positive," George told the media. The state government has constituted a high-level committee with members from the medical education department. "It has been asked to submit a detailed report as death due to monkeypox is unlikely," she added.

While the NIV report is awaited, the state government has started taking precautionary measures. People who were in close contact with the deceased were asked to quarantine themselves. After coming in contact with the infected person, the incubation period is around 21 days. Panchayat authorities in Punnayur have also called for a meeting of all the health workers on Monday. According to media reports, besides viral fever the patient did not have any visible symptoms of monkeypox or any other illness or health problem.

The minister said that since this variant of monkeypox is not contagious like Covid-19 and has a lower mortality rate, the reasons for the death have to be examined. The local media reported that the youth had interacted with people and even played football after reaching home. He was shifted to a private hospital on July 26 and was later on life support. Health authorities in Kerala are looking at the reasons for the delay in reporting and have made a route map of the person. His burial was also done in accordance with monkeypox guidelines.

"Until a detailed investigation is done, one cannot call it a monkeypox death. The number of deaths reported due to monkeypox is relatively few, in comparison to the several thousands of cases known so far. The reported cases will be an underestimation," Rajeev Jayadevan, vice-chairman, research cell, Indian Medical Association, Kerala, told Business Standard.

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) official data published on July 22, around 16,016 monkeypox cases were confirmed between January 1 and July 22. However, only five deaths were reported although the cases were spread across 75 countries. Spain and Brazil reported the first cases of deaths outside Africa on Friday. The deaths reported in Africa were from Nigeria (three) and Central African Republic (two).

On July 23, WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and issued temporary recommendations concerning it.