Second Monkeypox patient found

• The 42-year-old person who arrived from Dubai on Monday had consulted the health authorities due to symptoms

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama  

Another person diagnosed with monkeypox was found yesterday, and the patient was admitted to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH), the Health Ministry said.  They said with the detection of the patient, the number of monkeypox positive cases in the country has increased to two.   

The 42-year-old person who arrived from Dubai on Monday had consulted the health authorities due to symptoms, the ministry said.  

On November 4, the first case of monkeypox was detected in the country.  The 20-year-old person who arrived from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been detected as having the virus. The youth returned to the country on November 1. He is still receiving treatment at the IDH hospital, the Health Ministry said.  

Meanwhile, the Health Promotion Bureau said so far a total of 32 monkeypox-positive cases have been reported from the South Asian region. 17 patients reported from India, 12 from Thailand, one from Indonesia and two from Sri Lanka. Because the virus is easily transmitted, people were advised to be extremely caution when in close contact with an infected individual.