A person returning from the UAE is in Kerala hospital after symptoms of monkeypox (Representational)
Thiruvananthapuram:
A person returning from the UAE has been admitted to a hospital in Kerala after showing symptoms of smallpox from the monkey, state Health Minister Veena George said today.
The minister said samples of the traveler have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing.
Ms George said the disease could only be confirmed after obtaining test results.
Without revealing further details, Ms George said the person was showing symptoms of monkeypox and was in close contact with a monkeypox patient abroad.
According to the World Health Organization or WHO, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans by animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although clinically it is less severe.
With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has become the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated channel.)