Kerala youth had tested positive abroad; probe ordered
AMN / WEB DESK
A 22-year-old native of Thrissur in Kerala has died of Monkeypox. This would be India’s first monkeypox death and the fourth one outside Africa.
The youth had tested positive for monkeypox in another country, state Health Minister Veena George said.
The 22-year-old, a native of Punniyoor in Thrissur, had died at a private hospital days after he returned from the UAE. Subsequently, the health department sent his samples to the Kerala unit of the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha.
The minister said the youth had been diagnosed with monkeypox in a test conducted abroad, but his family members handed over the test results to the hospital authorities only on Saturday. “The youth had no symptoms of monkeypox. He had been admitted to the hospital with symptoms of encephalitis and fatigue. His relatives handed over the test result only on Saturday. A high-level probe would be held into the death as monkeypox has a very low fatality rate,” the minister added.