Mpox Virus Clade 1b Strain Reported in Kerala: The first case of the strain of Mpox virus, which was declared a public health emergency by WHO last month, has been reported in India. According to the report, a person was confirmed to be infected with this disease in Kerala last week. According to sources, a 38-year-old man from Mallapuram has been found infected with the 'Clade 1b strain', who recently returned from the United Arab Emirates. Sources said that the patient's condition is stable. He said, 'This was the first case of this variant. 

Start treatment immediately as soon as symptoms appear.

Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George has appealed to people returning from abroad to immediately inform the health department if they notice any symptoms and start treatment as soon as possible. In a social media post, she also released a list of government hospitals in various districts where treatment and isolated facilities have been arranged for the affected persons. She said that treatment is also available in all the medical colleges of the state. 

Surveillance increased at all airports.

George said that given the outbreak of ampox in many African countries, the Central Government has issued guidelines in this regard, following which surveillance has been increased at the airports of Kerala. He said that people coming from countries where cases of infection have been reported have been asked to inform the airport if they have any kind of symptoms.

Health workers should be alert while collecting samples from victims.

The Health Minister said that since the first case of ampox was reported in 2022, a standard operating procedure (SOP) was made in Kerala. Accordingly, isolation, sample collection, and treatment have been ensured. He said that every hospital has been requested to follow this 'protocol'. Veena George has asked people, especially the health workers collecting samples of affected persons, to strictly follow the necessary precautions.

So far 30 cases of this disease have been reported in India.

Due to this variant of ampox, the World Health Organization declared ampox a public health emergency for the second time last month. Earlier, a case of ampox reported in the national capital was of a 26-year-old man from Hisar in Haryana. He was found infected with the West African 'Clade 2' variant earlier this month. Since the WHO declared ampox a 'public health emergency of international concern' in 2022, 30 cases of it have been reported in India.