New Delhi: The first case of the monkeypox virus strain, which was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month, has been reported in India, with a man in Kerala testing positive for the virus last week, official sources said on Monday. They said a 38-year-old man from Mallapuram who had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found infected with the 'Clade 1B strain'. The patient's condition is stable, sources said.
He said, “This was the first case of this strain. Due to this strain, the World Health Organization declared ampox a public health emergency for the second time last month.”
A patient of clade 2 strain was found in Delhi
Earlier, a case of ampox reported in the national capital was of a 26-year-old man from Hisar in Haryana, who was found infected with the West African 'Clade 2' strain earlier this month. Since the WHO declared ampox a 'public health emergency of international concern' in 2022, 30 cases of it have been reported in India.
Kerala's health minister appeals to those returning from abroad
Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George has appealed to foreign returnees and others to inform the health department if they have any symptoms and get treatment as soon as possible. In a social media post, she also released a list of government hospitals in various districts where treatment and isolation facilities have been arranged for the affected persons. She said that apart from this, treatment is also available in all the medical colleges of the state. Appealing to the people to be cautious, George said that the state health department has increased surveillance at airports in the state in line with the guidelines of the central government in view of the spread of ampox infection in many African countries.
Asked to inform at the airport if any kind of symptoms occur
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