NIV confirms monkeypox infection in man who arrived in Mangaluru from Dubai with symptoms

The man, who had been living in Dubai for 19 years, showed symptoms of an infection after his arrival, including rashes and fever. He was isolated at a private hospital and samples obtained from him were referred to the Bangalore Medical College and later to the National Institute of Virology.

The patient is stable, does not have any serious complications and is likely to be discharged shortly, according to the health department. His 36-year-old wife, who received him at the airport, has been identified as a primary contact and advised isolation for a few days to monitor the development of any symptoms.

“In general, MPox is a mild self-limiting disease in most cases, except for a few immunocompromised patients with comorbidities who need to exercise greater caution. The treatment for the disease generally involves management of symptoms, such as medication for fever, body ache and antibiotics for secondary infections from infected lesions/rashes etc as well as ensuring sufficient hydration, nutrition, rest etc.,” the department said in the statement.

MPox generally spreads only through very close contact with a patient, and the infectivity of the disease is not as severe as that of Covid.

“The public is advised not to panic regarding the reporting of the case, given the mild nature of the disease and its much lesser infectivity. However, they are advised to watch for common symptoms associated with the disease, such as skin rashes along with fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, sweating, sore throat and cough and to get themselves tested, especially if they have a travel history to countries declared as high risk for this virus or if they have been in very close contact with persons affected by Mpox,” the statement said.

“There are no advisories or special instructions from the Government of India at present regarding mandatory testing of travellers from other countries. Although there is a vaccine for MPox, which is generally advised for high-risk populations like healthcare workers, it is not currently recommended by the Government of India in view of the very insignificant number of cases of MPox detected to date,” the statement added.