NEW DELHI – India has reported Asia’s first suspected death due to monkepox, which has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The 22-year-old man had returned from the United Arab Emirates on July 19 and tested positive for the infection. He died on July 30 days after he was shifted to a hospital in Kerala state with symptoms of encephalitis and fatigue.
Three monkeypox-related fatalities have so far been reported outside Africa, where the infection was first reported.
Kerala’s health department said that a high-level team will investigate the death of the man as it was yet to known what caused his death.dd
According to the WHO, more than 18,000 monkeypox cases have been reported across the world, and most of them surfaced in Europe.
India has reported at least four cases, with the first recorded on July 15 in another man who also returned to Kerala from the UAE.