Thiruvananthapuram, July 31: After a 22-year-old youth who reached Palakkad district of Kerala from a middle eastern country died on Sunday, the state health department has asked the district health officials to create a route map of his trip ever since he had landed in his hometown.
Sources in the health department told IANS that they were waiting for the report from the virology lab at Alappuzha to confirm the disease. If found positive, the swab samples would be sent to National Virology Lab, Pune for further testing. The state health minister’s office will announce the result of the lab test. The health department has also called upon those with whom he was in touch after his arrival in India from a middle eastern country to isolate and monitor them.
The sources said that the youth after reaching home on July 22 had played football along with his friends, and so all of them have been asked to go in isolation after the youth was detected with the disease.
First monkeypox patient recovers, to be discharged
Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday announced that the country’s first ever monkeypox patient has fully recovered and will be discharged later in the day.
The 35-year-old Kerala native arrived here from the UAE on July 12 and had tested positive for the virus two days later.
When he developed the symptoms, he was taken to a hospital at Kollam and from there he was shifted to the Trivandrum Medical College Hospital and was under close observation.
“The entire treatment protocol was planned by the National Institute of Virology, Pune and at repeated intervals samples was taken and tested. By now all the samples have tested negative two times and the patient has fully recovered and is perfectly fine,” said George.
Initially, concerns were raised over the infected man’s close contacts with his parents after his arrival, as well as 11 other passengers who had travelled with him.
But health authorities had assured that all the contacts were closely observed, allaying fears.
35-year-old George also said that two other positive cases in the state who also arrived from the Middle East, were in stable condition and recovering fast. (IANS)