The Health Ministry says the young patient recently traveled from a country where an outbreak of the virus is occurring.
India's health ministry says it has recorded a suspected case of mpox found in a man who recently traveled from a country suffering from an outbreak of the virus.
The young patient has been isolated in hospital and is in stable condition, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the world's most populous nation had “robust measures” in place.
“The case is being managed in accordance with established protocols and contact tracing is being carried out to identify possible sources and assess the impact within the country,” the Ministry of Health added.
The ministry did not specify which strain of the mpox virus the patient might have, but tests are being conducted to confirm the infection.
The clade 1b strain of mpox has raised global concern because it appears to spread more easily through routine close contact.
Last week, one case of this variant was confirmed in Sweden, which has been linked to a growing outbreak in Africa. India has detected 30 cases of an older strain, known as clade 2, between 2022 and March 2024.
The virus, formerly known as monkeypox, was discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys bred for research. It was first detected in humans in 1970. It is caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans by infected animals, but can also be passed from person to person through close physical contact.
It is usually mild and in rare cases fatal. It causes flu-like symptoms and purulent lesions on the body.
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) changed the name of monkeypox to mpox, arguing that the name of the disease appeared to be “racist.” Last month, the global health body declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.
But the WHO added that the mpox outbreak is not another COVID-19.
According to WHO, more than 17,500 cases of mpox and 629 deaths have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since the beginning of the year. Both strains (clade 1b and clade 1a) are present in the country.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has received its first batch of MPOX vaccines, which health authorities hope will help stem an outbreak that has prompted the United Nations to declare a global public health emergency.
The virus has also been detected in Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand.
