First confirmed case of MPox in India: What is West African Clade II strain?
India on Monday confirmed the first case of Mpox in the country in 2024. According to reports, the patient, a 26-year-old from Hisar, Haryana, had recently returned to India from an African country where the Mpox virus is spreading.
'Patient is stable'
The patient was admitted to the Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital on Saturday, which is one of the three facilities that have been prepared with isolation rooms for suspected and confirmed cases of the disease.
According to the Union Health Ministry, the patient remains clinically stable and is without any systemic illness or comorbidities.
Read more:?Pakistan confirms first case of Mpox, on traveler returning from the Middle East
Not related to current global Mpox outbreak
The case aligns with earlier risk assessments and continues to be managed according to established protocols, it said, adding that public health measures, including contact tracing and monitoring, are actively in place to ensure the situation is contained.
"There is no indication of any widespread risk to the public at this time," the health ministry stated.
The Health Ministry further said that the isolated case is similar to the previous Mpox infections reported in India in 2022 and is not part of the ongoing public health emergency declared by WHO.
Infected by clade II strain of Mpox
Unlike the Mpox global health emergency declared by the WHO for the clade I strain, the patient in India has been infected by the clade II strain.
The clade II strain, also known as the West African clade II strain, is one of the two strains of Monkeypox viruses that are infecting humans.
Also read:?As Mpox scare spreads, doctors caution against indiscriminate vaccination and hospitalisation
What is?clade II strain of Mpox
There are two distinct clades of the virus: clade I (with subclades Ia and Ib) and clade II (with subclades IIa and IIb).
The clade II strain, which is predominantly spreading in West Africa, was behind the 2022 global Mpox outbreak. In contrast, the current Mpox outbreak is caused by the clade I strain, which is mostly spreading in Central Africa.
Infections caused by clade II are less severe than clade I and have a lower fatality rate of less than 0.2%, compared to the 3.6% of the other strain.
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