Thiruvananthapuram, July 30 (BPNS)
The first monkeypox virus (MPV) case in the country, reported from Kerala’s Kollam district on July 14, got discharged today.
The 35-year-old man, who returned from the UAE, was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. The hospital authorities said that he is physically and mentally fit and the bumps developed have also been cured completely.
“He is fit to be discharged. As it was the first case, there was a direction from the National Institute of Virology that tests should be conducted twice at an interval of 72 hours. The results came as negative,” said Veena George, health minister.
Earlier, the health department had stated that the primary contacts of the first case got tested negative.
It was on July 12 that the first case arrived from the UAE. Two days later he was confirmed with MPV.
At present, the state has two active MPV cases – one from Kannur (reported on July 18) and the other from Malappuram (reported on July 22). Both were returnees from abroad.
The state had earlier come out with a standard operating procedure (SOP) that covers aspects of isolation, treatment, and sample collection for MPV cases. The SOP meant for all government and private hospitals, mandated that suspected and probable MPV cases should have to be treated separately and that too in isolation.
According to the SOP, irrespective of age, those coming from countries where MPV has been reported, should undertake self-observation for 21 days. They must look for symptoms like a rash before (or without) flu-like symptoms. The flu-like symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, sore throat, cough, swollen lymph nodes, chills, or exhaustion.
Monkeypox, which is now a public health emergency of international concern, is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.
One may experience all or only a few of the symptoms of monkeypox. Some people have developed a rash before (or without) flu-like symptoms. The flu-like symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, sore throat, cough, swollen lymph nodes, chills, or exhaustion. If someone has flu-like symptoms, they will usually develop a rash 1-4 days later.
