Kerala man who came from UAE dies of suspected monkeypox, probe ordered

22-yr-old had tested positive before coming to India, says minister; NIV report awaited to ascertain cause of death

The death of a man from Punnayur in Thrissur district of Kerala on Saturday could be the first case of a monkeypox casualty in India, the state’s health minister, Veena George, said on Sunday. The 22-year-old had tested positive in another country, the minister added.

A report from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Alappuzha was expected either late Sunday night or early on Monday. The youth had landed in Kerala on July 22 from the United Arab Emirates. Out of the four monkeypox cases reported so far in India, three were from Kerala.

“He had conducted tests a day before