The mpox strain that caused the public health emergency has also been detected in India. Read on to learn essential details about the virus and how to reduce the risk of infection.
The Mpox outbreak has spread across the world. Cases have also been reported in India. The first case of mpox clade 1 was detected in Kerala on Monday. The mpox clade 1 strain has caused a public health emergency of international concern. Since the WHO declared Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern in 2022, 30 cases have been reported in India.
Mpox in India
India has reported the first case of the Mpox strain in a patient from Kerala who had tested positive last week, official sources said on Monday. According to PTI reports, the Clade 1b strain has been detected in a 38-year-old man from Malappuram district who had recently returned from the UAE.
The patient is stable, sources said, adding, “This was the first case of the current strain that prompted the World Health Organisation to declare Mpox a public health emergency last month for the second time.” The previous Mpox case that emerged in the national capital was a 26-year-old resident of Hisar in Haryana who tested positive for the earlier West African Clade 2 strain earlier this month.
5 Things You Should Know About Mpox in India
- Kerala Health Minister Veena George has already appealed to the public, including those returning from abroad with any symptoms, to inform the health department and seek treatment at the earliest. Apart from this, treatment was available in all medical colleges in the state, the minister said.
- Mpox infections are usually self-limiting, lasting two to four weeks, and patients usually recover with treatment and supportive care.
- It is transmitted through close and prolonged contact with an infected patient.
- Mpox typically presents with fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes and can lead to a variety of medical complications.
- The state health department has already intensified surveillance at airports in the state in line with the Centre’s guidelines in the wake of the Mpox outbreak in many African countries.
