Thu Sep 26 19:54:19 UTC 2024: ## India Steps Up Mpox Prevention Measures After Third Non-African Case
**New Delhi, India** – India has ramped up its preventive measures against Mpox after a 38-year-old man in Kerala, who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates, tested positive for the virus, marking the third non-African case. This new strain, identified as clade 1b, is more virulent and transmissible than the strain previously seen in India in 2022.
Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has directed state governments to take immediate action, including raising public awareness about the disease, its transmission, and the importance of timely reporting. He has also instructed states to identify isolation facilities and train healthcare workers.
The government has emphasized robust diagnostic testing capabilities with 36 ICMR-supported labs across the country, and the CDSCO has approved three commercial PCR kits for Mpox detection. Samples from suspected cases will be sent to designated labs for testing, with positive samples forwarded to ICMR-NIV for genome sequencing.
This latest case follows India’s first Mpox case earlier this month, involving a 26-year-old man from Haryana who had returned from an African country. That case was linked to the previous outbreak in 2022 and involved the less virulent clade 2 strain.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current Mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on August 14th, marking the second time it has issued such a declaration for the disease.
While the symptoms of clade 1 in adults are similar to clade 2, clade 1 is associated with a higher rate of complications. Cases of clade 1b have been recently reported in Sweden and Thailand.
The Indian government is taking a proactive approach to prevent a widespread outbreak of Mpox, emphasizing the importance of early detection, isolation, and public awareness.
First Piper 