Another suspected case of mpox, or monkeypox, has been identified in India. A 38-year-old man from Kerala’s Malappuram district, who arrived from the UAE last week, has been admitted to Government Medical College hospital at Manjeri and has been isolated.

His sample has been sent for testing to Kozhikode Medical College after which it will be confirmed whether the man has mpox or not.

Kerala mpox suspect isolated himself

Talking to reporters, Kerala health minister Veena George said that the man arrived from Dubai last week and showed up mpox symptoms.

“Since he had developed symptoms, he initially went into a self-quarantine at home and stayed in a separate room with toilet facilities. He has taken precautions. He did not interact with others at home.”

“Yesterday (September 16), he got admitted to the Medical College Hospital. His samples have been sent for testing. We are awaiting final confirmation. As soon as the results arrive, we will take further steps,” the minister said in New Delhi where she was scheduled to meet Union health minister JP Nadda on Tuesday.

In August, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the mpox outbreak in many African countries should be considered as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, Kerala had issued an alert against monkeypox.

Mpox spread by the virus of the same family as smallpox. Common symptoms include skin rashes or mucosal lesion which can last between two to four weeks. Patients may also experience fever, flu-like symptoms, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

Mpox spreads through close skin to skin contact with someone who has been infected. It can also spread through contaminated surfaces, or through infected animals. In some cases, the infection can be deadly.

There are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb). In 2022–2023 a global outbreak of mpox was caused by the clade IIb strain.

Earlier this month, a suspected case of monkeypox was confirmed in Delhi. The suspect, a 26 year old man from Haryana, tested positive for the virus after returning from abroad.

With inputs from agencies.

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Another suspected mpox case in India: Dubai returned Kerala man shows symptoms