Kerala Monkeypox case: Alleged lapses in Diagnosis, contact tracing

Thiruvananthapuram: The District Medical Officer has denied the allegation of not informing the district health administration about a recent monkeypox case diagnosed in a resident of Kollam which is considered India's first case ever.

The NS hospital claimed that they had informed the DMO about the situation after the hospital suspected the patient of having monkeypox.

Medical Dialogues team had reported about the incident where the sample of suspected case sent to NIV, Pune turned positive. The patient arrived from the UAE on July 12.

When he developed the symptoms he was taken to a hospital at Kollam and from there he was shifted to the Trivandrum Medical College hospital where he is under close observation.

The patient, however, went to the private hospital through an autorickshaw. Meanwhile, the patient later left for the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital by taxi after the DMO asked the hospital staff to refer him to MCH. The patient also denied using the hospital's ambulance, Collector Afsana Parveen told TH.

Also read- Health Ministry Releases Guidelines For Monkeypox Treatment, Details

When asked about the patient's information, the private hospital could not provide enough information to track the patient. The DMO faced heavy criticism for not being able to find the details of the auto and taxi drivers even after two days said Parveen on Friday.

An official from the private hospital said "The patient came with his parents around 5 p.m. on Tuesday and the symptoms included fever and rashes. He was referred to a dermatologist from the General Medicine Department. Since the patient was an international traveller with symptoms, it was reported as a suspected case of monkeypox. After the DMO issued guidelines, the patient was sent to Thiruvananthapuram around 7 p.m."

Also read- Monkeypox Arrives In India, First Case Reported From Kerala

The patient is now under the care of the Infectious Disease Department at Government Medical College Hospital, Kollam. The patient's mother was also informed of the situation and later arrived at the private hospital. The patient reported to have been in contact with many people including family members and paid no visit to the MCH.

When the DMO claimed that the private hospital failed to inform, the private hospital's administrators responded by saying that " As per the instruction of the DMO, we referred the patient to the MCH by following all rules and regulations."