India confirms first case of monkeypox death; Centre constitutes task force

By On Aug 1, 2022

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The National Institute of Virology in Pune on Monday confirmed the death of a 22-year-old man from Punnayur in Thrissur district of Kerala as the first case of monkeypox death in India.

This comes a day after the state health minister Veena George indicated that the man had tested positive in the United Arab Emirates. The youth, who landed at Karipur Airport from the UAE on July 22, died on July 30 at a private hospital near Chavakkad in Thrissur. So far, Kerala has reported four monkeypox cases, while Delhi also reported one case. The Centre has constituted a task force to look into the monkeypox cases in the country. The task force will be headed by V K Paul, member (Health), NITI Aayog.

According to sources, a test of the samples of the youth was conducted at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Alappuzha first and when the results turned positive, samples were sent to Pune for conducting a detailed investigation. The state government has already made a route map of the deceased youth and around 15 people, who were in close contact, have been asked to go in quarantine as a precaution.

Based on the media reports, the samples of the youth tested positive on July 19 and July 20 in the UAE and despite that he travelled to Kerala. Even after the state government came out with a standard operating procedure at airports on July 19, authorities failed to detect the youth’s case. What is causing concern for the authorities is the fact that his public contact list may be even higher as the youth had even played football with friends.

The family of the youth had informed the authorities about the tests conducted in the UAE only after his condition deteriorated after July 27. The cremation of the youth was conducted on July 31, following the protocols similar to Covid-19. On Sunday, the district medical officer conducted a high level meeting at Punnayur, which was followed by a meeting of health workers by the panchayat on Monday.

After four cases got reported, Centre came out with a standard operating procedure to be followed at airports. Though the authorities are reiterating that there is no need to panic, the fact that a healthy person with no other medical condition lost his life is creating concern among public.

The state government has also constituted a high-level committee to look into the death of the youth and George said that the state will look into the reasons for the delay in treatment. On the other hand, the Centre task force will advise the government regarding diagnosis and on how to combat the disease. So far, around 21,000 cases of monkeypox were reported across the world, with the rate of deaths being comparatively lower compared to Covid.

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