Thiruvananthapuram: A person who returned from the United Arab Emirates has been admitted to a hospital in Kerala after developing symptoms of monkeypox, state Health Minister Veena George said today. The minister said the traveler’s samples have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing. Ms George said the illness could only be confirmed after the test results were received. Without divulging further details, Ms George said the person was showing symptoms of monkeypox and had been in close contact with a monkeypox patient overseas. According to the World Health Organization or WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those previously seen in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent discontinuation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus in public health. (Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published by a syndicated feed.)
