India reports first case of Mpox Clade 1b strain

India has reported its first case of Mpox Clade 1b strain in Kerala’s Malappuram district.

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This is the same strain that led to the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring the disease as a public health emergency, official sources said.

“The Clade 1b strain has been found in a 38-year-old male patient from Kerala’s Malappuram district who tested positive last week. He came to India from Dubai,” sources said.

While the patient is stable, the Kerala health department officials have said that 29 people, who include the patient’s friends and family members, and 37 passengers who were on the flight with the patient are being monitored at home but none of them has shown any Mpox symptoms so far.

A clade is a broad grouping of viruses that has evolved over decades.

The earlier case of Mpox that was detected in Delhi was of a 26-year-old resident of Haryana’s Hisar who had tested positive for Clade 2 strain.

There are two distinct clades of the Mpox: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb).

Common symptoms of Mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last 2-4 weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes. WHO said that Clade 1b appears to be spreading mainly through sexual contacts.

India had reported about 30 cases and one death from clade 2 strain between 2022 and March 2024.

There are 22 laboratories actively conducting Mpox testing in India. State AIDS control societies, ports and airports have been directed by the health ministry to be on alert to identify suspected cases.