India reports first mpox case of rapidly spreading clade 1b variant

NEW DELHI: India has reported an mpox case — a man from the southern state of Kerala — of the rapidly spreading clade 1b variant, marking South Asia's first case from the new clade on Monday. 

Health Ministry spokesperson Manisha Verma confirmed the strain after news agency ANI cited official sources as saying that the mpox case reported in the Malappuram district of Kerala last week belonged to clade 1.

The patient is a 38-year-old man who had travelled from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and had been admitted to the government medical college hospital in the district, Kerala authorities said last week.

The state health department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for details of the case on Monday.

India, the world's most populous nation, had so far not reported an mpox case from the new strain but federal authorities had issued an advisory this month to all states to remain vigilant and be prepared to address potential cases.

The caution followed the rapid spread that prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the outbreak a global health emergency after the new offshoot, first identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), began spreading to neighbouring countries.

India had reported about 30 cases and one death from the older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March this year, and one more clade 2 case earlier this month.

Two strains of mpox are now spreading in Congo — the endemic form of the virus, clade 1, and the new clade 1b strain, with the term "clade" referring to a form of the virus.

Mpox transmits through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous global pandemics such as COVID-19 there is no evidence it spreads easily through the air.

It typically causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and is usually mild but can kill.