‘Deadly Mpox strain detected in Kerala’

India has reported the first case of the Mpox strain, which led to the WHO declaring it a public health emergency last month, in a patient from Kerala who had tested positive last week, official sources said on Monday.

They said Clade 1b strain has been detected in a 38-year-old man from Malappuram district who had recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. The patient is stable, the sources said, adding “this was the first case of the deadly strain”.

The Kerala health department announced plans to release revised guidelines for the prevention and treatment of Mpox, a decision that came in the wake of the southern state reporting the country's first confirmed case of the new strain on Monday.