India Detects First Case Of Mpox From Fast-Spreading Clade 1B Variant. Why It Matters

The 38-year-old patient, a resident of Malappuram district, had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates.

New wards for Monkeypox patients being arranged at Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases in Hyderabad.

Source : PTI

India has reported the first case of the Mpox Clade 1b strain, which led to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a public health emergency, PTI quoted official sources as saying. 

The Clade 1b strain has been found in a patient from Kerala who was tested positive last week, the sources said on Monday. The 38-year-old patient, a resident of Malappuram district, had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. 

Kerala Health Minister Veena George last Thursday said that the infection was confirmed after the lab reports showed the presence of Mpox virus in the man from Malappuram. 

The report said that the patient is stable and it was the first case of the current strain that led to the WHO declaring Mpox a public health emergency last month for a second time. 

What Is Clade 1b Strain?

The Clade 1b Mpox variant had triggered global concern due to how easily it spreads through close contact, particularly among children.

The strain first emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but infections were found in neighbouring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

The cases of the Clade 1b variant have recently been reported from outside Africa, with new infections found in Thailand and Sweden.  

The first case of Mpox in India recently emerged in New Delhi in a 26-year-old resident of Haryana's Hisar who tested positive for the previous West African Clade 2 strain earlier this month. 

Since the 2022 declaration of Mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO, 30 cases have been reported in India. 

Meanwhile, the Kerala Health Minister has already appealed to the public, including those returning from abroad with any symptoms, to inform the health department and seek treatment at the earliest. 

In a social media post, George released a list of state-run hospitals in various districts where treatment and isolation facilities for the affected persons have been arranged. Besides this, treatment was available in all medical colleges in the state, she said. 

As soon as the outbreak of the Mpox was reported in 2022, the southern state had  brought out a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) in this regard. Isolation, sample collection and treatment, in accordance with the SoP, have been ensured in the state, the minister said and urged every hospital to follow this protocol without any fail. 

Mpox infections are generally self-limiting, lasting between two and four weeks and its patients usually recover with supportive medical care and management. It is transmitted through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient. It typically manifests itself with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.