India today said an “isolated” suspected case of Monkeypox virus has been confirmed in the country but made it clear that it has been verified as a travel-related infection and “not a part of the global public health emergency sounded by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the outbreak.
In a statement today, the health ministry confirmed that laboratory tests have detected the West African clade 2 of the Mpox virus in the patient, who had recently returned from a country experiencing Mpox cases.
The patient, a young male, remains in isolation at a designated tertiary care facility and is clinically stable without any signs of systemic illness or comorbidities.
“This is an isolated case, similar to the previous 30 cases reported in India since July 2022, and is not connected to the current global health emergency, which pertains to clade 1 of the Mpox virus,” the Ministry said.
Authorities emphasised there is no widespread public health risk at this time. Contact tracing and monitoring measures have been implemented to contain the situation, and the ministry has alerted all states and federally ruled territories to remain vigilant and take preventive measures.
The ministry’s statement comes a day after it initially reported that the patient was being isolated following their return from abroad.
