India confirms first Mpox case, Centre says no current sign of widespread risk to public
The government said the case was an isolated one, and was not part of the current public health emergency reported by the World Health Organization.
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The Union health ministry on Monday said that a previously suspected case of Mpox was confirmed to be an infection caused by the virus. It added that there was no indication of any widespread risk to the public at this time.
On Sunday, the ministry said that a man who recently travelled from a country experiencing Mpox transmission had been identified as a suspected case of the disease.
“Laboratory testing has confirmed the presence of Mpox virus of the West African clade 2 in the patient,” the ministry said on Monday. “This case is an isolated case, similar to the earlier 30 cases reported in India from July 2022 onwards, and is not a part of the current public health emergency [reported by the World Health Organisation] which is regarding clade 1 of Mpox.”
While Mpox is not a new disease, it is a rare infection caused by the monkeypox virus. The illness was previously known as monkeypox. Clade 1 and 2 are the two types of the virus that causes Mpox.
While clade 1 is responsible for the current rise of cases in Africa, clade 2 is the type that caused the global outbreak that began in 2022. Historically, clade 1 caused higher numbers of severe illnesses than clade 2, with up to 10%...
