Dubai return man tests positive for Monkeypox in Mangaluru

A case of Monkeypox has been reported in Karnataka making it the first case of MPox reported in the state this year. Health officials on Thursday said that a 40-year-old man who recently returned from Dubai tested positive for the virus. The said patient, who has been residing in Dubai for the past 19 years, arrived in Mangaluru on January 17, 2025.

"A case of Monkeypox (MPox) has been confirmed on January 22, 2025 by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune in a 40-year-old male in Mangalore, a native of Karkala (Udupi district)," the health department said in a statement.

According to the health department, upon his arrival, he exhibited symptoms of rashes and had a history of fever two days prior. He was promptly isolated at a private hospital, and his MPox samples were referred to Bangalore Medical College (BMC) and subsequently to NIV, Pune.

The person is stable and does



not have any serious complications. He is likely to be discharged shortly. The department has advised the public not to panic on the reporting of the said case in view of the mild nature of the disease as well as its much lesser infectivity.

"But they are advised to watch for common symptoms associated with the disease like skin rashes along with fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, sweating, sore throat and cough and get themselves tested, especially if they have a travel history to countries declared as high risk for this virus or if they have been in very close contact with persons affected with MPox," it stated.

The statement further said, "Though there is a vaccine for M-Pox which is generally advised for high risk populations like the health care workers but the same is not advised by the Government of India presently in view of the very insignificant number of cases of M-Pox detected till date.”