Monkeypox: India’s first patient from Kerala recovers, will be discharged today

As many as four confirmed cases of Monkeypox disease - three from Kerala and one from Delhi - have been reported in India till July 27.

India’s first monkeypox patient was discharged on Saturday after testing negative for the viral infection, said Kerala’s health minister Veena George. The patient, a 35-years-old hailing from Kollam city in Kerala, tested positive for the zoonotic disease on July 14 after returning from UAE. He was hospitalised soon after.

Two other monkeypox patients from Kerala are also under observation, and their health condition is said to be satisfactory. (PTI file image)

"All samples tested negative twice. The patient is physically and mentally healthy. The skin bumps are completely cured. He will be discharged today," George said. As it was the first case of monkeypox in the country, tests were conducted twice at an interval of 72 hours as per the instructions of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), she told news agency PTI. The test results of his family members, who were in the primary contact list with him, also came negative.

Meanwhile, two other monkeypox patients from Kerala are also under observation, and their health condition is said to be satisfactory. “Prevention and surveillance measures would be continued with the same vigour,” the health minister added.

In terms of global outbreak, there are over 20,800 confirmed cases of monkeypox in nearly 75 countries with the World Health Organisation having declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

Common symptoms in all these cases include fever, headache, muscle pain, and lethargy along with rashes and blisters on the face, palms or sole of feet, mouth, eyes or genitalia.

Discovered in 1958 in monkeys at the Statens Serum Institute in Denmark, monkeypox is a zoonotic virus that can infect humans as well as other animals, including rodents and primates.