India’s 2nd Mpox Case Detected In Kerala, Highly-Transmissible Strain Found

Kerala/New Delhi: India’s second confirmed Mpox case was reported from Kerela after a UAE returnee tested positive for the infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). The man had been hospitalized in Ernakulam, health department officials said on Friday. His condition was stated to be stable.

Last week, the first case was also reported from Kerala after a 38-year-old was diagnosed with the disease. The man had returned to Malappuram from UAE. It was later confirmed that he had Clade 1B infection.

The new mpox strain, called Clade 1b, has triggered a public health emergency alert by the World Health Organization (WHO). The new variant is highly transmissible. It has been linked to the mpox outbreak in Africa.

Mpox is a contagious virus that can cause painful skin lesions.

The Union Health Ministry released an advisory for all states and union territories on the Mpox disease after India became the third non-African country to have a Clade 1b case.

Here are the dos and don’ts recommended by the government:

• Suspected mpox cases must be isolated immediately and stringent infection prevention measures must be undertaken by authorities.
• They must raise public awareness regarding the mode of transmission, symptoms and the necessity for timely reporting.
• They must set up isolation facilities for suspected and confirmed cases. The facilities must have proper logistics and trained staff.
• They must send all samples for testing to designated labs. For suspected positive cases and genome sequencing samples must be sent to ICMR-NIV.
• ICMR-approved labs must ensure diagnostic capabilities with PCR kits.
• Public health infrastructure must be monitored by senior health officials both at state and district levels.