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Isolation ward for monkeypox infected people in India
Photo: Noah Seelam / AFP
A 22-year-old man died in India over the weekend as a result of his monkeypox infection.
According to Indian authorities, he had returned from the United Emirates about a week ago, where he had tested positive for the virus.
He died on Saturday in the southern state of Kerala as a result of the disease.
A regional government minister said on Monday that 21 people were in isolation after close contact with the deceased.
The contact persons have not shown any symptoms so far, so there is no reason to panic.
The young man was taken to the hospital with encephalitis and fatigue.
The doctors there did not initially notice typical monkeypox symptoms, the minister said, according to the website The Indian Express.
His infection only became known afterwards.
Tissue samples would now be examined to determine the exact cause of death.
Two deaths in Spain, one in Brazil
Spain was the first European country to report two deaths related to the monkeypox virus on Saturday.
The two patients died in hospitals in the regions of Valencia and Andalusia.
According to official information, both had been admitted with encephalitis.
The Health Ministry of the Region of Valencia announced on Friday evening that the patient's death was caused by infection-related encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
Several Spanish experts emphasized that both deaths were probably due to previous illnesses – but there is currently no certainty about this.
Shortly before, Brazil had reported what was probably the first fatality from the current virus outbreak outside of the African continent.
The 41-year-old man had various previous illnesses, was immunocompromised and had undergone chemotherapy, said the Ministry of Health in Brasília.
The extent to which monkeypox contributed to the man's death is now being investigated.
In view of the spread of monkeypox, the governor of the US state of New York declared a state of emergency.
San Francisco declared a state of emergency last week.
Almost 23,000 cases worldwide
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recorded 2,677 cases of monkeypox on Monday.
According to the RKI, according to current knowledge, in the vast majority of cases men who have had sexual contact with other men are ill.
Monkeypox is a viral infection that is usually mild.
Symptoms include fever, headache, and skin rashes, which usually start on the face and spread to the rest of the body.
The disease has been spreading worldwide since early May.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had declared the highest alert level in connection with the global health emergency on July 23.
As of the most recent count, there have been nearly 23,000 cases of monkeypox worldwide.
Europe is particularly affected with more than 14,000 cases.
According to WHO information, about eight percent of patients in Europe have come to the hospital, mostly because of severe pain or additional infections.
In general, the mortality rate for the variant currently circulating in Europe is estimated to be low.
kry/Reuters/dpa
