‘Don't worry, monkeypox's infectivity very less, but…': AIIMS professor

Additional professor of AIIMS's department of medicine Piyush Ranjan said monkeypox virus transmits from animals to humans by close contact or through face-to-face contact with infected persons “for a longer duration”.

Following the confirmation of India's first monkeypox case in Kerala, a top professor from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has now asked people not to panic as the infectivity of the virus is “very less”, news agency ANI reported. Additional professor of AIIMS's department of medicine Piyush Ranjan, however, warned that the zoonotic disease can be “fatal for children as compared to the Covid-19 virus”.

Monkeypox has now been reported in more than 60 countries, including India.  (AFP)

“No reason to worry as the monkeypox virus's infectivity is very less, though it can be fatal for children as compared to the Covid-19,” he said.

On the process of virus transmission, Ranjan said monkeypox travels from animals to humans by close contact or through face-to-face contact with infected persons “for a longer duration”.

“Monkeypox symptoms are like smallpox and chickenpox. At the onset, the patient will have a fever and enlargement of lymph nodes. After one to five days, patients may report rashes on the face, palms and soles,” he added.

The AIIMS professor also said patients suffering from monkeypox can also have rashes in the cornea, leading to “blindness”.

Earlier in the day, Kerala issued alerts to as many as five states as a majority of the co-passengers in the Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram flight that landed in Kerala on July 12 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and had the infected man on board, belonged to these regions.

State health minister Veena George announced the decision after conducting a high-level review meeting. She added that passengers who travelled on this flight need to self-monitor their health and if they develop any symptoms, they should “report immediately”. “There were 164 passengers and six crew members on board. We are yet to get the details of all passengers,” George added.

The infected man is aged 35 and hails from Kerala's Kollam district. He subjected himself to treatment on July 12 itself when he reached the southern state after his close contact in the west Asian nation tested positive for monkeypox.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to that seen earlier in smallpox patients. The United Nations (UN) agency, however, said it is clinically less severe.

Experts have said that monkeypox virus mutates at a higher rate but is treatable after observing symptoms.