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Bloomberg

India has detected its first case of the virulent mpox virus strain, according to a government official, as the latest global health emergency reaches the world’s most-populous nation.
The patient, who is from Kerala, has tested positive for the clade Ib strain, the official said who asked not to be identified as the information has not been released formally by the health ministry.
The mutated strain was detected in a 38-year-old man from Kerala’s Malappuram district who had recently travelled from the United Arab Emirates, local news wire PTI reported on Monday. Thailand was the first in Asia to detect the new fast-spreading strain last month after a European male arrived in Bangkok from Africa.
Asian countries from China to Pakistan have been strengthening surveillance for weeks while Singapore has set up airport temperature and visual screenings as well as mandated a three-week quarantine at a designated facility.
Indian public health authorities have also been on alert and gearing up to tackle the pathogen in the densely-packed country where commuters in public transport often travel cheek by jowl. International airports such as Bengaluru have boosted vigilance by sending passengers through thermal scanners.

The current variant produces fluid-containing lesions and is spreading through close physical contact as well as all kinds of sexual activity. The earlier milder strain that erupted in 2022, by contrast, was spread primarily through men who have sex with men.
India, which has more than two dozen labs equipped for testing mpox, is working on sensitising health teams at international airports as well as updating its mpox alerts, the health ministry said in August. The risk of a large outbreak with sustained transmission is low according to India’s current assessment, it added.
Serum Institute of India Pvt., the world’s largest vaccine maker, is “working on developing” a vaccine for mpox and is expecting “positive news” within a year, it said on August 21.
The newer strain has been spreading across several African countries and is reported to have killed more than 500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children and adolescents have been most affected in the outbreak in Africa, with most of the known fatal cases under the age of 5.


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India detects first case of fast-spreading mpox strain

A nurse stands next to a newly created mpox isolation ward at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Nurses speak inside an mpox isolation ward at a government hospital in Chennai. Photo: AFP

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A public hospital in Singapore. The city state is leveraging AI to transform predictive preventive care. Photo: AFP

Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. Photo: AFP

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A child with mpox gets treatment at a hospital near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Xinhua

World Health Organization (WHO) logo displayed on a smartphone in front of test tubes labelled ‘mpox’. Photo: dpa

Vials of single doses of the Jynneos vaccine for mpox at a vaccinations site in New York. Photo: AP

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Public health officials are on high alert, implementing enhanced screening measures at international airports


Public health officials are on high alert, implementing enhanced screening measures at international airports.


India detects first case of fast-spreading mpox strain

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Public health officials are on high alert, implementing enhanced screening measures at international airports

Public health officials are on high alert, implementing enhanced screening measures at international airports