India confirmed its first mpox case, also known as monkeypox, linked to the rapidly spreading clade 1b strain involving a traveler in Kerala, on Monday, September 23.
As per Reuters, the patient is a 38-year-old man who arrived from the United Arab Emirates.
Previously, a 26-year-old man from Hisar, Haryana, tested positive for the West African Clade 2 strain in the national capital.
The outbreak has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a significant health emergency due to its increasing spread in Africa.
This decision followed a meeting of the UN health agency's emergency committee and came just a day after the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a public health emergency on the continent.
According to the WHO, there have been over 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in Africa this year, surpassing last year's figures.
More than 96% of these cases are concentrated in the Congo, where a new and possibly more transmissible strain of the virus is causing concern.
