Mpox Virus: Monkeypox, which caused havoc in Africa, has knocked in India, a patient of Clade-1 strain found in Kerala

New Delhi: The Clade-1 variant of the monkeypox virus that has caused havoc in Africa has entered India. The first case of this Clade 1 strain has been reported in Kerala. The WHO had declared this virus a global health emergency last month. The 30-year-old patient in Kerala who has been confirmed to have this strain had recently returned from the UAE.

Patient found in Mallapuram, Kerala

The concern of people across the country has increased regarding this patient found in Mallapuram, Kerala. Because this strain of monkeypox is spreading very fast in African countries these days. According to official sources, ‘This is the first case of that strain due to which WHO declared monkeypox a health emergency for the second time last month.’

The health department confirmed

Health Ministry spokesperson Manisha Verma has confirmed this strain. News agency ANI had quoted sources as saying that the monkeypox case reported last week in Kerala’s Malappuram district was of Clade 1.

A patient of clade 2 strain was found in Delhi

Earlier, the monkeypox case reported in the capital Delhi was of the West African Clade 2 strain. This strain was confirmed earlier this month in a 26-year-old man from Hisar in Haryana. Since WHO declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern in 2022, 30 cases have been reported in India.

Monkeypox clade 1b is found in central Africa and can cause severe disease. According to the WHO, more than 30,000 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in Africa so far this year, most of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where testing has stopped. More than 800 people have died from monkeypox across the continent during this period, the UN health agency said in its report.