The Centre announced that a case of mpox involving a man in Kerala has been identified as the fast-spreading clade 1b strain, marking the first recorded instance of this new variety in South Asia. Health Ministry spokesperson Manisha Verma confirmed the strain after ANI reported that the case, detected in Malappuram district last week, belongs to clade 1.
The patient is a 38-year-old man who recently traveled from the United Arab Emirates and was admitted to the local government medical college hospital. Authorities are closely monitoring about 29 of his friends and family, as well as 37 fellow passengers from his flight. So far, none have exhibited symptoms of mpox, according to Malappuram’s nodal officer, Dr. Shubin C.
The Kerala state health minister’s office has not yet responded to requests for more details about the case. Until now, India had not reported any mpox cases from this new strain, but the central government issued a precautionary advisory to all states this month, urging vigilance in case of potential cases.
This advisory follows the rapid spread of mpox that led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it a global health emergency. The new clade was first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since begun to spread to neighboring countries.
From 2022 to March of this year, India reported around 30 cases of the older clade 2 strain, along with one death, and a new clade 2 case was noted earlier this month. Currently, two strains of mpox are circulating in Congo: the endemic clade 1 and the emerging clade 1b.
Mpox is transmitted through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike airborne viruses such as COVID-19, it does not spread easily through the air. Symptoms typically include flu-like signs and pus-filled lesions, and while most cases are mild, the disease can be fatal in some instances.