Monkeypox death in India: Is there a reason to panic?

India recently recorded its first death of a patient who had tested positive for the monkeypox virus.

The deceased youth was a native of Chavakkad in Thrissur district and had returned from UAE on July 21. He was admitted to a private hospital in the district on July 27 and died just 3 days after.

His samples were sent for testing at the National Institute of Virology and the result showed that he was positive for the virus.

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It was the first monkeypox death to be reported in Kerala. Earlier the first three monkeypox cases in the country were also reported in Kerala. All were persons who came down from the UAE. Another case was later detected in Delhi.

Does this mean that monkeypox is a ‘killer’ disease?

Monkeypox typically manifests with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. It is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting for two to four weeks.

The incubation period is usually from six to 13 days and the case fatality rate of monkeypox has historically ranged up to 11 per cent in the general population and higher among children. In recent times, the case fatality rate has been around three to six per cent.

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However, the monkeypox variant that was found in the man who died was not as highly virulent or contagious as Covid. “Comparatively, the mortality rate of this variant is low. Therefore, we will examine why the 22-year-old man died in this particular case as he had no other illness or health problems," Kerala Minister Veena George said.

According to the WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis -- a virus transmitted to humans from animals -- with symptoms similar to smallpox although clinically less severe.

How many monkeypox-infected people have died globally so far?

The global monkeypox outbreak has seen more than 22,000 cases in nearly 80 countries since May. There have been 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mostly in Nigeria and Congo, where a more lethal form of monkeypox is spreading than in the West.

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In the US and Europe, the vast majority of monkeypox infections have happened in men who have sex with men, though health officials have stressed that anyone can catch the virus.

The first death outside the African continent was reported in Brazil on July 29. Soon after that, Spain reported two deaths. These are believed to be the first confirmed fatalities from the disease in Europe since its recent spread beyond Africa.