India confirms first case of monkeypox, or MPOX, in the country, with the patient undergoing treatment, while authorities monitor more than 60 close contacts.
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India confirms first case of monkeypox, or MPOX, in the country, with the patient undergoing treatment, while authorities monitor more than 60 close contacts.
Foreign news agencies reported that Indian authorities confirmed on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 that they had found the first case of “monkeypox” or “mpox” strain “clade 1b” in the country. The patient was a 38-year-old man from Kerala who had just returned from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The clade 1b strain of MPOX virus emerged late last year and is now spreading in several African countries, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern in August over concerns it could spread to countries outside of Africa.
Maneesha Verma, spokeswoman for India’s health ministry, confirmed on Tuesday that the patient in Malappuram district has been infected with the MPOX clade 1B strain and is currently being treated at a hospital while officials are tracing and monitoring people the man had contact with to see if they have spread the virus.
Malappuram district health officials said 29 of the man’s friends, family members and 39 other passengers who had travelled on the same flight were under observation but none had shown symptoms so far.
Over the past two years, India has reported more than 30 cases of MPOX infections in the country, but all were infected with the “clade 2” strain, which is less transmissible and has a lower fatality rate than clade 1. Earlier this month, India reported another case of this strain in Haryana state, who recovered after being hospitalized for two to three days.
In addition, the MPOX virus can be spread from animals to humans and from person to person through contact with an infected person, including sexual intercourse, body contact, talking or breathing on each other in close proximity. It causes a variety of symptoms, such as fever, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes and sores on the body. If left untreated, it can be fatal.