Clade 1 case of monkeypox found in India, WHO has issued a health emergency regarding this variant

By News Update On Sep 24, 2024

New Delhi. Worrying news has now surfaced in India regarding monkeypox or ampox virus. A person living in Malappuram, Kerala, who was confirmed to be infected with the monkeypox virus last week, has been found to have the Clade 1 variant of ampox. Clade 1 is the same variant of the monkeypox virus for which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a health emergency. This person, a resident of Malappuram, Kerala, has returned from UAE some time ago. Currently, he is admitted in the isolation ward of the Government Medical College in Manjeri and his condition is normal.

India reports the first MPOX clade 1 case, which was reported in Kerala, Malappuram last week. The patient is a 38-year-old man who travelled from UAE, this is the strain after which WHO declared a public health emergency: Official Sources
— ANI (@ANI) September 23, 2024

After the confirmation of the Clade 1 variant in this person from Kerala, the health department as well as the administrative officials have become alert. The administration is now trying to find out where this person suffering from the Clade 1 variant went and how many people came in contact with him so that contact tracing can be done. This is the second case of monkeypox virus infection in India. Earlier, monkeypox virus infection has been confirmed in a person in Delhi. However, this person has been found to be infected with the Clade 2 variant of the monkeypox virus. The Clade 2 variant does not fall under the emergency status issued by the WHO. This person from Delhi has also returned from a foreign trip some time ago. After being treated in isolation for a few days in the hospital, he was discharged on September 21.

WHO has already issued an advisory regarding the Clade 1 variant of monkeypox and has also declared it a medical emergency. According to WHO data, more than 99 thousand people have died in 116 countries around the world since 2022 due to monkeypox disease.