India detects first case of fast-spreading mpox strain

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

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

Published: 12:41pm, 24 Sep 2024Updated: 12:44pm, 24 Sep 2024

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.

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

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.