Monkeypox: Kerala steps up vigil, issues special alerts to five districts

Kerala government has stepped up vigil to prevent the spread of monkeypox, issuing special alerts to five districts, a day after the State reported the country's first case of monkeypox.

State Health Minister Veena George said, a special alert has been issued to five districts as people from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam were co-passengers of the infected person in the  Thiruvananthapuram-bound flight from Sharja that landed in the capital on



Tuesday.

The Minister said that isolation facilities will be set up in all these districts. Two people in Kottayam who travelled with the infected person have been put under observation. The flight carried 164 passengers and six cabin crew.

On Thursday, the Centre had rushed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Kerala for holding consultations with the State Government authorities to deal with the situation.