India reports first mpox case of clade 1b from Kerala’s Malappuram district | Latest News India

India has reported the first case of mpox (earlier monkeypox) disease infected with the clade 1b that is largely in circulation in the current global outbreak, according to officials familiar with the matter.

On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the second time in the past two years. (via REUTERS)

The said Clade 1b strain has been detected in a 38-year-old man from Malappuram district of Kerala, who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. The patient is currently stable and under observation.

“This is the second case of mpox in India, and the first case detected with new clade that is globally under circulation, which is known to be more virulent. Even though the risk of this disease turning into a big outbreak in India is low, the states are fully prepared to deal with any eventuality. However, people need not panic at all,” said a senior official in the Union ministry of health and family welfare, requesting anonymity.

The contacts of the patient have been traced and are under observation. So far, none of the contacts have tested positive.

India’s first mpox patient was isolated in a ward at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital earlier this month. The strain, however, was the one that was prevalent in the previous outbreak seen in India in 2022. He was a 26-year-old man from Haryana’s Hisar and had a history of travel to one of the affected African countries.

On August 14, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the second time in the past two years.

While Lok Nayak hospital has been designated as the nodal facility, two other hospitals are on standby.

The Lok Nayak hospital has 20 isolation rooms, out of which 10 are for suspected cases and the remaining for confirmed mpox patients.

The Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital and Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital have five rooms each for suspected mpox cases and five each for confirmed ones.

Among the central government hospitals in the city, Safdarjung and All India Institute of Medical Sciences have also kept wards ready to isolate suspected and confirmed cases of the disease.

The health ministry earlier advised the states and Union territories to screen and test all suspect cases in the community and identify isolation facilities in hospitals for both suspects and confirmed patients.

In a letter to states and UTs earlier, Union health secretary Apurva Chandra asked them to prevent any undue panic amongst the masses while underlining that the health ministry continued to closely monitor the evolving situation.

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