New Delhi: Samples of a 22-year-old man, who died in Kerala on July 30, have come out positive for monkeypox on Monday, official sources said. The man had recently returned from the UAE where also his samples had tested positive for the disease, the sources said. Apparently, his samples were taken in the UAE on July 19 and he returned to India on July 21 and was admitted to a hospital in Thrissur on July 27. His samples were sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
“The results came out positive on Monday,” the sources said.
According to the relatives of the deceased, they were informed on July 30 — the same day the patient died — that his samples taken in UAE had also tested positive, the sources said.
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Sunday said the health department will examine the reasons behind the death of the man.
The patient was young, and did not suffer from any other illness or health problems and therefore, the health department was looking into the cause of his death, she said.
George said they will also be examining why there was a delay in his hospitalisation after he arrived from the UAE on July 21.
“This particular variant of monkeypox is not as highly virulent or contagious as COVID-19, but it does spread. Comparatively, the mortality rate of this variant is low. Therefore, we will examine why the 22-year-old man died in this particular case as he had no other illness or health problems,” the minister had said.
Since this variant of monkeypox does spread, all necessary measures have to be taken to prevent the same, she added.
