India reports first monkeypox death

A man who tested positive for the monkeypox virus died in Kerala’s Thrissur on Saturday making it the first recorded death due to the monkeypox virus in India. 

The deceased had tested positive for monkeypox in another country, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said. This would be India’s first monkeypox death and the fourth one outside Africa. 

The victim, a 22-year-old native of Punniyoor in Thrissur, died at a private hospital days after he returned from the UAE following which the health department sent his samples to the Kerala unit of the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha.

The man 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. 

“A high-level inquiry will be conducted into the death of a person with symptoms of monkeypox in Chavakkad Kuranjiyur. The result of the test conducted in a foreign country was positive. He sought treatment in Thrissur,” said Kerala Health Minister Veena George. 

“Delay in seeking treatment will be investigated. The health department called a meeting in Punnayur regarding the death of a young man due to monkeypox. A contact list and route map of the deceased youth were prepared,” added the Kerala Health Minister.

India has so far confirmed four cases of monkeypox, three of them in Kerala. Saturday’s death would be the country’s first death due to the infection.

Source: India.com