THRISSUR: A UAE returnee who was admitted to a private hospital in the district died after showing symptoms of monkeypox on Saturday. The 26-year-old man, a native of Chavakkad, had arrived from West Asia on July 26. According to sources, he came back due to health issues.
As he suffered seizures with high fever, he was admitted to a hospital here. Though he had only skin rashes while being admitted to hospital, swollen lymph nodes, one of the major symptoms of monkeypox, appeared on Friday.
As the situation became worse, he even went to brain death on Friday, sources said.
The samples tested in the private hospital have confirmed that the man died of monkeypox.
However, health officials are waiting for the results from Alappuzha virology lab which will be available by noon on Sunday. If confirmed it will be the first monkeypox death in the state.
Health officials have already identified the primary contacts of the man and initiated measures to ensure that the health protocol is followed.
Meanwhile, another Kerala man, who was India’s first monkeypox patient and was being treated at the Government Medical College here, has recovered from the disease, state Health Minister Veena George said on Saturday.
The 35-year-old, hailing from Kollam, would be discharged later in the day, she said.
As it was the first case of monkeypox in the country, tests were conducted twice at an interval of 72 hours as per the instructions of the National Institute of Virology, she said.
“All samples were negative twice. The patient is physically and mentally healthy,” the health minister said.
The minister also said the test results of his family members, who were in the primary contact list with him, are also negative.
At present, the health condition of two other persons, who had also tested positive for the infection, remains satisfactory, the minister said.
The Kollam native, who had returned to Kerala from abroad and was hospitalised after showing symptoms of monkeypox, tested positive for the disease on July 14.