The Kerala government on Wednesday confirmed that a 38-year-old man being treated for Mpox symptoms in Malappuram has been diagnosed with the infection. This is the second Mpox case reported in the country.

State health minister Veena George said that the man tested positive after returning from the United Arab Emirates, NDTV reported.

After noticing the symptoms, the man isolated himself from his family, said George, adding that he was hospitalised at the state-run Manjeri Medical College.

While Mpox is not a new disease, it is a rare infection caused by the monkeypox virus. The illness was previously known as monkeypox. Clade 1 and 2 are the two types of the virus that causes Mpox.

While clade 1 is responsible for the current rise of cases in Africa, clade 2 is the type that caused the global outbreak that began in 2022. Historically, clade 1 caused higher numbers of severe illnesses than clade 2, with up to 10% of people dying from it.

Recent outbreaks have seen much lower death rates of about 1-3.3%.

In a post on Facebook on Wednesday, George urged the public to seek treatment and inform the health department if there were any symptoms.

Mpox leads to rash and flu-like symptoms and spreads through wild animals like rodents and primates mainly in parts of Africa, according to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. It can also be transmitted through close contact with persons who have Mpox and contaminated materials.

While most persons infected by the virus fully recover, some get very ill. Vaccines are available for Mpox.

On September 9, the Union health ministry confirmed the first case of Mpox in the country. It added that there was no indication of any widespread risk to the public at this time.

“Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of Mpox virus of the West African clade 2 in the patient,” the ministry had said. “This case is an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards, and is not a part of the current public health emergency [reported by the World Health Organisation] which is regarding clade 1 of Mpox.”

On August 14, the World Health Organisation declared the Mpox outbreaks in Africa as a global emergency. At that point, cases of the disease had been confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced on August 13 that with more than 500 deaths linked to the illness in 2024, the outbreaks were a public health emergency and requested global assistance in stopping the virus from spreading.

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