India has confirmed its first case of a more deadly strain of mpox, sparking global concern over the rapid spread of the virus. The clade Ib strain was detected in a 38-year-old man who recently traveled to Dubai.
Health officials in Kerala, where the case was confirmed, praised their state’s robust healthcare system for detecting the case quickly. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared this strain a global health emergency last month after it spread to four previously unaffected African countries and then detected in several countries outside Africa.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals through close contact or contaminated materials. Symptoms include fever, rash, lesions, headache, muscle pain, low energy, and enlarged lymph nodes.
The virus has two genetic clades: I and II. Clade Ib causes more severe disease than Clade I. Authorities in Kerala are taking precautions by testing the patient every four days and monitoring 37 passengers on the flight from Dubai to Kerala, as well as five close contacts of the infected individual.
Kerala’s health minister, Veena George, emphasized the state’s preparedness for infectious diseases, stating that surveillance has been strengthened, including at airports, and isolation facilities have been established. The state previously contained an outbreak of the Nipah virus last year, demonstrating its ability to handle such cases.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/25/asia/india-mpox-first-case-1b-hnk-intl/index.html