India reports first case of mpox from new, fast-spreading clade 1b variety

A man receives a dose of the mpox vaccine at the Edison municipal vaccination centre in Paris, France July 27, 2022. Alain Jocard/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

NEW DELHI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – India said on Monday that an mpox case involving a traveller in the southern state of Kerala was from the fast-spreading clade 1b variety, marking the country’s first recorded case from the new strain.

Manisha Verma, a spokesperson for the health ministry, confirmed the strain after news agency ANI cited official sources as saying that the mpox case reported in Kerala’s Malappuram district last week belonged to clade 1.

The patient is a 38-year-old man who had travelled from the United Arab Emirates, Kerala authorities had said last week.