On Saturday, a man who tested positive for the monkeypox virus died in Kerala’s Thrissur, becoming
India’s first recorded death from the virus. According to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, the
deceased tested positive for monkeypox in another country.
This would be the first monkeypox death in India and the fourth outside of Africa. The victim, a 22-year-old native of Punniyoor in Thrissur, died at a private hospital days after returning from the UAE, and his samples were sent to the Kerala unit of the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha by the health department.
According to health department sources, the young man, who worked in Ras al-Khaimah in the UAE,
arrived at Kozhikode airport in Kerala on July 22. “He was active after returning home. He used to play
football at a local park.
On July 26, he developed a fever and sought treatment at a local hospital. He was later transferred to another hospital and placed on life support. He stated that he had been tested in the UAE prior to boarding the flight to Kerala. We learned after his death that he was told to rest once he arrived home.”
Until Saturday, the family was unwilling to discuss the situation with the health department or the local
village panchayat, according to sources. After the adolescent died Saturday afternoon, he was buried according to disease protocol. All of his primary contacts have been placed under surveillance.