Monkeypox In India: A.2 Lineage Mutating, 3 Sub-Clusters found, Says ICMR

New Delhi: An Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study has found three sub-clusters of the monkeypox virus detected in India.

The first cluster, of Kerala (N5) and Delhi (N2), is aligned with the USA-2022 ON6740511 and; the second cluster, of Delhi (N3), is aligned with USA-2022 ON6754381. The final cluster consists of cases detected in the US, UK and Thailand.

A total of 13 monkeypox cases have been reported in India so far — 8 from Delhi and 5 from Kerala. Of these, one fatality has been reported, when a Kerala patient succumbed to the disease.

ICMR conducted a complete genome sequence of monkeypox cases reported in Kerala and Delhi between July and August, 2022.

The study found that monkeypox virus sequences in India, covering 90% to 99% of the genome, belonged to the A.2 lineage of clade IIb, ANI quoted Dr Pragya Yadav, senior scientist at ICMR-NIV, as saying.

Clinical specimens — oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swab — of 96 suspected monkeypox cases were collected from 18 states and 3 union territories and sent to ICMR-National Institute of Virology in Pune for analysis.

ICMR said that the outbreak of monkeypox is largely limited to men who have sex with men, primarily with multiple bisexual or homosexual partners.