Karnataka govt clarifies monkeypox suspect diagnosed with chickenpox

Karnataka health commissioner D Randeep said in a statement that the Ethiopian national is a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patient, who came to Bengaluru from Addis Ababa on July 4 for kidney transplantation, and was admitted to the Aster CMI hospital.

The Karnataka government clarified on Sunday that a foreign national suspected of having monkeypox symptoms was diagnosed with chickenpox.

The Karnataka government has intimated all its district health officials to remain vigil and intensify health screening at all entry points. With Covid-19 also on the rise, the issue of monkeypox has raised concerns across the country. (Sunil Ghosh/Hindustan Times)

“A middle-aged Ethiopian citizen who had come to Bengaluru earlier this month was subjected to a monkeypox test after he was suspected to have monkeypox symptoms. His report has now confirmed that it is a case of chickenpox,” Dr K Sudhakar, Karnataka’s minister for health, family welfare and medical education, said in a post on Twitter.

The statements come at a time when Karnataka has tried to ensure stricter medical checkups at its borders, especially with Kerala, to monitor the movement of any person with symptoms of monkeypox.

“All symptomatic travellers arriving from the affected countries to Bengaluru/Mangaluru international airports are being screened, isolated and tested for fever, chills and sweats, lymph node swelling, headache, muscle ache, exhaustion, sore throat and cough, skin rashes,” Sudhakar said.

Earlier, Karnataka health commissioner D Randeep said in a statement that the Ethiopian national is a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patient, who came to Bengaluru from Addis Ababa on July 4 for kidney transplantation, and was admitted to the Aster CMI hospital, PTI reported.

“On July 25, he developed (a) rash on the left hand. He had itching too. On Tuesday, it started spreading all over his body (vesicular rash), and while itching, blood and fluid were coming as informed by his translator,” he said.

Kerala has reported at least two cases of monkeypox, with the latest being on July 18 in the Kannur district, bordering Karnataka’s Kodagu.

The Karnataka government has intimated all its district health officials to remain vigil and intensify health screening at all entry points. With Covid-19 also on the rise, the issue of monkeypox has raised concerns across the country.

The state health department has asked its district machinery to designate at least two beds for any suspected case and set the process for sample collection to specified laboratories.