An mpox case involving a traveler in the southern state of Kerala was from the fast-spreading clade 1b variety, marking the country's first recorded case from the new strain, India said on Monday.
Manisha Verma, a spokesperson for the health ministry, confirmed the strain after news agency ANI cited official sources as saying that the mpox case reported in Kerala's Malappuram district last week belonged to clade 1.
The patient is a 38-year-old man who had travelled from the United Arab Emirates, Kerala authorities had said last week.