What are the details of recording the first case of the new strain of the “Mbox” virus in India?
India has reported its first case of the new strain of monkeypox virus, Mpox, which prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency, Reuters reported.
The new variant, called clade 1b, is highly contagious and has been linked to outbreaks of mpox In Africa.
Media reports said the new strain was detected in a 38-year-old man from the southern state of Kerala.
Monkeypox, formerly known as chickenpox, is a contagious virus that can cause painful skin lesions.
The World Health Organization declared Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, a public health emergency in Africa in August.
Since then, the more dangerous variant of the virus has spread to countries outside the African continent, including Sweden, Thailand and Pakistan.
Health ministry spokeswoman Manisha Verma confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that the MBO case reported in Kerala’s Malappuram district belongs to the first strain.
The patient is receiving treatment in hospital, and people he has been in contact with are being tracked and monitored, authorities said.
The district health official said about 29 of the patient’s friends and family members, along with 37 passengers on his flight, were being monitored but none of them had shown any symptoms so far, the news agency reported.
In the past two years, India has reported more than 30 cases of MBOX caused by the older Clade 2 strain, which is considered less infectious.
Earlier this month, the MBOX strain was detected in a man from the northern state of Haryana, who was hospitalized for a few days.
Chickenpox spreads from animals to humans and between people through close contact with an infected person — including through sex, skin-to-skin contact, and talking or breathing near another person.
It can cause symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and lesions throughout the body. If left untreated, moxifloxacin can be fatal.
The federal government has issued an advisory to all states, asking them to be vigilant for possible cases of MBOX.
Nearly 35 laboratories across the country have been designated to test suspected cases of the disease. mpox.
