The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has urged caution as chicken pox is spreading in the Maldives.

The public health authority on Friday revealed that 11 cases of chickenpox were reported from Gulhi island of Kaafu atoll this month.

Among these, two individuals have been admitted at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and are receiving further treatment.

Highlighting that chickenpox cases are commonly reported from several areas in the Maldives every year, HPA noted that up to November 2024, a total of 2,977 cases have been reported nationwide. Of these, 1,506 cases were reported from the Greater Malé Region and 1,471 cases from outlying atolls.

Chickenpox is a viral infection typically associated with childhood. However, it can also affect adults.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, fatigue, runny nose, and the appearance of blisters on the skin. These blisters turn into fluid-filled vesicles. The blisters are itchy and easily burst. Vesicles appear on different parts of the body within two to three days.

HPA revealed that the disease is transmitted through the respiratory system when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The disease can also spread by touching a person with blisters, using towels or clothes used by them, and there is a chance of transmission from one person to another until the blisters on the body completely crust over.

The public health authority revealed that anyone who has not previously contracted the disease could contract the disease. However, if a person has had the disease once, the chance of getting it a second time is very low.