Kerala Confirms Second Mpox Case as India’s Total Rises to Three

Kerala on Friday confirmed its second case of the viral Mpox infection, bringing the total number of reported cases in India to three. According to reports by The New Indian Express, the new patient is a 26-year-old man who recently returned to Kerala from the United Arab Emirates. The infection was detected in the district of Ernakulam by the state health department.

The patient has been hospitalized at a private healthcare facility where he is receiving treatment. In a bid to identify the strain, samples from the patient have been dispatched for genomic sequencing to the National Institute of Virology in Pune. This analysis will determine whether the infection is due to the more deadly Clade 1b strain of Mpox or the previously common Clade IIb strain.

The Clade 1b Mpox strain is known for its severity and rapid transmission and has already been identified in one of the three cases reported so far. On September 18, a 38-year-old man from Edavanna in Malappuram tested positive for Mpox with the newer strain, prompting health authorities to establish comprehensive preventive measures across the region.

The inaugural Mpox case in India this year involved a 26-year-old resident of Hisar, Haryana, who was infected with the older strain, as confirmed by the Health Ministry.

Mpox is a viral disease resulting from an infection by a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. The disease’s virus has two major clades: Clade 1, which includes subclades 1a and 1b, and Clade 2, comprising subclades IIa and IIb.

Following the outbreak of the Clade 1b strain in Kerala, the central government issued guidelines to all states and union territories to curtail the potential spread of Mpox. In mid-August, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern.

The virus can be transmitted through close contact with an infected person or by touching contaminated materials such as clothing or linens. Symptoms of the disease include fever, rash, skin lesions, and muscle aches, among others.