India has reported its first case of the new MPOX strain, which has triggered an emergency public health alert by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to Reuters.
This new variant, called lineage 1b, is highly contagious. MPOX occurrence in Africa.
According to media reports, the variant was detected in a 38-year-old man from the southern state of Kerala who recently returned from Dubai.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a contagious virus that can cause painful skin lesions.
In August, the WHO declared MPOX, formerly known as monkeypox, a public health emergency in Africa.
Since then, more dangerous variants of the virus have spread to countries outside the African continent, including Sweden, Thailand and Pakistan.
Health ministry spokesperson Manisha Varma confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that the MPOX case reported in Kerala’s Malappuram district belongs to lineage 1.
Officials said the patient is undergoing treatment at a hospital and those he has come into contact with are being traced and monitored.
Around 29 friends and family members of the patient, as well as 37 passengers on board, are being monitored but have not shown any symptoms so far, the news agency reported, a district health official said.
Over the past two years, more than 30 cases of MPOX caused by the older lineage 2 strain, which is thought to be less infectious, have been reported in India.
Earlier this month, the MPOX strain was detected in a man in northern Haryana who was hospitalized for several days.
Mpox is transmitted from animals to humans and between humans through close contact with an infected person (such as through sex, skin-to-skin contact, talking or breathing in close proximity to another person).
It can cause symptoms like fever, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, and lesions all over the body. If left untreated, MPOX can be fatal.
The federal government has issued an advisory to all states urging them to be vigilant for possible MPOX infection.
Approximately 35 laboratories across the country have been designated for testing patients suspected of having MPOX infection.
