India Reports First Monkey Pox Case In Kerala: What Is It Really?

On July 14, a Kerala man returning to Thiruvanathapuram tested positive for monkeypox after returning from the UAE, as confirmed by Kerala Health Minister Veena George. With this, India reported its first case of the contagious disease. Speaking to ANI, George mentioned the patient is quite stable with all vitals being normal.

Maintaining the safety procedures, the state also identified the primary contacts, consisting of the patient's father, mother, the taxi and auto driver. The other primary contacts include the 11 passengers of the same flight who were sitting in the adjacent seats.

What Is The Monkeypox?

An endemic disease to Central and West Africa, Monkey Pox is a disease caused by a zoonotic virus in the genus Orthopoxvirus in the family Poxviridae called monkeypox virus. The genus was also seen in the variola virus that caused the fatal Smallpox outbreak that has now been eradicated.

The two distinctive strains have been named after the African regions where the contagious virus was discovered. Of the reported two types of strains, the Central African (Congo Basic) type is known for being more threatening than the West African type.

Although the source of the virus is unknown, a WHO report mentioned that the contemporary outbreak of monkeypox "primarily affect men who have sex with men who have reported recent sex with new or multiple partners."

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Symptoms And Fatality

The virus that can occur in humans and some animals can cause fever, swollen lymph nodes and rashes that form blisters after 1-3 days of fever. The symptoms usually last from 5 to 21 days.

Complications of monkeypox can also consist of secondary infections, bronchopneumonia, sepsis, encephalitis, and infection of the cornea with ensuing loss of vision.

According to the WHO, the fatality rate of monkeypox has historically ranged from 0 to 11 per cent with children, pregnant women and immunosuppressed patients being the most vulnerable group of people to catch the disease. In recent times, the fatality rate has ranged between three to six per cent.

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Outbreak In 2022

In 2022, the virus endemic to Central and West Africa was first reported outside Africa, when an individual with travel links to Nigeria tested positive on May 6. According to the WHO's report, the case developed a rash on April 29 and returned back to the UK from Nigeria on May 4. The patient was immediately isolated after labs detected the West African clade.

The virus has now been suspected in 69 countries with 65 countries confirming cases including India, UK, USA, Spain, Portugal, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Peru to name a few.

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Prevention And Cure

Since the virus has got the genus found in smallpox, vaccines against smallpox are deemed to be effective against monkeypox too. But since the global eradication of smallpox in 1977, the supply of vaccines got decreased.

Although there is no such known cure for monkeypox, WHO recommends patients consume fluids and food for maintaining their nutritional status. Recently, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) reported that Imvanex can potentially be utilised to prevent monkeypox. Imvanex is an authorised vaccine to prevent smallpox in the EU.

While Tecovirimat is another FDA-approved vaccine for the treatment of smallpox, its usage for preventing monkeypox is not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).