Kerala man who returned from UAE showed suspected Monkeypox symptoms: minister

The Kerala resident's samples have been sent to virology institute in Pune for testing. State health minister Veena George said the disease could be confirmed only after getting the test results.

A Kerala resident who returned from UAE has reported suspected symptoms of the Monkeypox virus, state health minister Veena George said. The samples have been sent to virology institute in Pune for testing. The minister said the disease could be confirmed only after getting the test results.

George said the person who showed symptoms of Monkeypox was in contact with a patient abroad.

More than 60 countries across the world have reported the outbreak of the disease as confirmed cases have crossed 10,400. The disease which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa and only occasionally spreads elsewhere.

An electron microscopic (EM) image shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles as well as crescents and spherical particles of immature virions. (Representative image/Reuters)

As of July 12, United Kingdom had 1,735 confirmed cases, while Spain reported 2,447 infections. Germany, France, Greece and other European countries have reported Monkeypox infections.

On June 26, the World Health Organisation's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said that the Monkeypox outbreak was deeply concerning evolving threat but did not constitute a global health emergency. He also convened a committee of experts to advise him whether to sound the UN health agency's strongest alarm over the outbreak.