The 38-year-old from Kerala, who was diagnosed with mpox last week, has been confirmed to have Clade 1B infection, according to government sources. This is the country’s first case of the clade of infection that has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) sounding alarm bells on mpox. While another person was found to have the infection in Delhi earlier this month, it was a Clade II infection. India has reported at least 32 mpox cases and one death since 2022 when the infection was first detected in the country. Clade 1b has led to renewed concern over the infection as it is a deadlier strain, which was being reported from parts of Congo and neighbouring countries that previously did not have the infection. It also started spreading through sexual contact, not previously seen in Clade 1 infections. This led to the WHO sounding its highest level of alarm and declaring mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in August. This is the second time the infection has received the designation in as many years – the outbreak between July 2022 and May 2023 was also declared as PHEIC. Mpox, previously referred to as monkeypox, is a self-limiting viral infection caused by mpox virus (MPXV). The most common symptoms of mpox include fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes, along with pox-like rashes that last for two to three weeks. It is a self-limiting disease but can lead to death, especially among children and those with weak immune systems. While the infection has been reported in humans since 1970, it mostly affected people in endemic regions in Africa till the 2022 outbreak.
