India’s First Monkeypox Death: Kerala Youth Tested Positive Overseas; Probe Ordered

Kochi: A 22-year-old youth who died at a private hospital in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Saturday had apparently tested positive for monkeypox in a foreign country.

Kerala Health minister Veena George said today that the state health department will examine the reasons behind the youth’s death. Among the questions being asked are why there was a delay in his hospitalization after he arrived in Kerala from the UAE on July 21.

The minister said that though the youth had been diagnosed with monkeypox in a test conducted abroad, his family members handed over the result to 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,” George said.

“This particular variant of monkeypox is not as highly virulent or contagious like 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 told mediapersons.