Symptoms of Mpox patient have started subsiding, all contacts traced, says health authorities

Kozhikode: Malappuram district health authorities said that the symptoms of the 38-year-old mpox patient, who is under treatment at the Manjeri Govt Medical College Hospital, have started subsiding.
District medical authorities said that all the contacts of the UAE-returnee have been traced. The person who had returned from Dubai on Sept 13 tested positive for mpox on Sept 18.
"There were 29 persons from the district on the patient's contact list.All of them have been identified and are all under self-quarantine. Also 38 persons who sat near the person in the flight have been identified and they are also under quarantine," said a health department official.
He said the patient's symptoms have started subsiding and added that samples were collected for testing on Monday. "If the result is negative, then we will conduct another round of sample testing after four days and if that is also negative, we can say that the patient has tested negative," the official said.
Meanwhile, state health minister Veena George said in Idukki that the state was keeping a close watch on the mpox infection of a patient in Malappuram. She said steps have been taken for the identification of all contacts and to ensure that no one is missed out as the current clade of the virus is more infectious.
"It if was the other clade, the spread can take place only through close contact. Therefore, the state govt is making interventions vigilantly and very carefully," the minister said.
The man hailing from Chathallur had arrived by an Air India Express flight. After experiencing fever, headache and body pain, he sought treatment at a private hospital the same day. As there was no improvement in his condition, he sought treatment at the dermatology OP wing of the Manjeri Medical College Hospital three days later on Sept 16 for fever and rashes on the body, prompting doctors to isolate him and send his samples for testing.
Following the confirmation of mpox, the health department has arranged treatment and isolation facilities in 14 hospitals across all districts and has appointed a nodal officer for each isolation facility and for each district.