India reports first mpox case in current outbreak

India has reported its first case with the new mpox strain that has triggered a public health emergency alert by the World Health Organization (WHO), Reuters reports.

Called clade 1b, the new variant is highly-transmissible and has been linked to the mpox outbreak in Africa.

According to media reports, the strain has been detected in a 38-year-old man from the southern state of Kerala who returned from Dubai recently.

Mpox, previously known as monkey pox, is a contagious virus that can cause painful skin lesions.

The WHO declared mpox, which used to be called monkeypox, a public health emergency in Africa in August.

Since then, the more dangerous variant of the virus has spread to countries outside the African continent, including Sweden, Thailand and Pakistan.

On Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesperson Manisha Verma confirmed to Reuters that the mpox case reported in Kerala’s Malappuram district belonged to clade 1.

The patient is being treated in a hospital and the people he came in contact with are being traced and monitored, authorities said.

The district’s health officer said that about 29 friends and family members of the patient along with 37 passengers on board his flight were being monitored but none of them had exhibited any symptoms so far, the news agency reported.

In the last two years, India has reported more that 30 mpox cases caused by the older clade 2 strain, which is considered to be less infectious.

Earlier this month, the mpox strain was detected in a man from northern Haryana state, who was admitted in hospital for a few days.

Mpox spreads from animals to humans and between people through close contact with someone who is infected – including through sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.

It can cause symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and lesions across the body. If left untreated, mpox can be deadly.

The federal government has issued an advisory to all states, asking them to be vigilant for potential mpox cases.

Around 35 laboratories across the country have been designated for testing suspected mpox cases.