India records first suspected mpox case, male patient in isolation

India’s health ministry says it has recorded a suspected case of mpox found in a man who recently travelled from a country suffering an outbreak of the virus.

The young male patient has been isolated in a 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.

A new variant, dubbed Clade 1b, was first detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo and it prompted the  World Health Organization  to declare its highest international alert level on August 14. 

The new strain of the disease has already made its way to Asia and Europe, but up until now, there have been no confirmed cases of it in India.

“The patient has been isolated in a designated hospital and is currently stable,” it said, adding the samples “are being tested to confirm the presence of mpox.”

The health ministry did not disclose which country the man arrived from.

“The development of this case is consistent with the earlier risk assessment conducted by the NCDC (National Centre for Disease Control) and there is no cause of any undue concern,” the Health Ministry