Another Suspected Case of Monkeypox Reported in Kerala, 7-yr-old With Symptoms Admitted to Hospital | 10 Points

Monkeypox cases on rise in India: Till now India has reported nine cases of monkeypox and one death.  Out of the total of 9 cases, 4 cases are from Delhi while the remaining five have been reported from Kerala. 

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has reported another suspected case of Monkeypox with a seven-year-old child showing the symptoms of the viral disease. He has been admitted to Kannur government medical College hospital, in Kerala, said reports. The child has returned from UK and had symptoms similar to the epidemic. His samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune. The child has been under treatment in a specially designed isolation room. Till now India has reported nine cases of monkeypox and one death.

Monkeypox in India: Your 10-Point Cheatsheet To This BIG Story Here 

1. Out of the total of 9 cases, 4 cases are from Delhi while the remaining five have been reported from Kerala.
2. An analysis of India’s first two monkeypox cases by ICMR revealed that the duo who returned from the UAE were infected with the virus strain A.2 — different from the one causing the outbreak in Europe.
3. The A.2 strain, which was detected in the US last year, has not been linked to major clusters. The current outbreak is being driven by the B.1 strain of monkeypox virus, Dr Pragya Yadav, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and lead author of the study, said.
4. In Bihar and Gujarat, suspected patients to have contracted monkeypox tested negative for the viral infection.
5. Earlier this month, Union health ministry had released a list of dos and don’ts to avoid contracting the disease.
6. Among the dos, the ministry advised isolating the infected person from others so that the disease does not spread, use of hand sanitisers, or washing hands with soap and water, covering mouth with masks and hands with disposable gloves when close to a patient, and using disinfectants to sanitise the environment around.
7. The don’ts state avoid sharing linen, beddings, clothes, towels, among others, with people who have tested positive for the infection. The ministry advised not to wash soiled linen or laundry of patients and those of non-infected persons together, and avoid public events even if you only exhibit symptoms of the disease.
8. A task force on monkeypox has also been constituted to closely monitor the emerging situation in the country and decide on response initiatives to tackle the spread of the disease.
9. Monkeypox typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeks.
10. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern. According to WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis — a virus transmitted to humans from animals — with symptoms similar to smallpox although clinically less severe.