The first case of monkeypox has been detected in India wherein a person who returned to Kerala from abroad was hospitalized after showing signs of monkeypox, state Health Minister Veena George informed on Thursday.

In the evening, she confirmed that he tested positive for the virus.

Earlier today, the minister told the media that the samples of the symptomatic person have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing.

He further said that the person showed symptoms of monkeypox and he was in close contact with a monkeypox patient abroad.

It is the first case of the virus in Kerala.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health.