Health Protection Agency (HPA) has issued a public alert on the spread of chickenpox in Kaafu Gulhi island.
HPA said 11 cases have been reported in Gulhi since November 1. Two of them are receiving treatment at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
The agency urged the public to pay attention to the symptoms of the disease. These include fever, fatigue, runny nose and skin rashes.
The itchy rashes start as flat red spots and then turn into raised red bumps and blisters filled with fluid.
It is an airborne disease which easily spreads via human-to-human transmission, typically through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.
But a person who has had chickenpox once is less likely to be affected by the virus a second time.
Children are most likely to get infected. However, it also affects adults.
According to figures, 2,977 cases have been reported across the country by November this year. That is 1506 cases in Male' and 1471 in the atolls.
