India has confirmed its first case of the new, more dangerous strain of mpox known as clade 1b, health authorities said on Tuesday.

India said on Monday that an mpox case involving a man in the southern state of Kerala was from the fast-spreading clade 1b variety, marking South Asia's first recorded case from the new strain. Health Ministry spokesperson Manisha Verma confirmed the strain after news agency ANI cited official sources as saying that the mpox case reported in the Malappuram district of Kerala last week belonged to clade 1.

India has reported its first case with the new mpox strain that has triggered a public health emergency alert by the World Health Organization (WHO), Reuters reports. Called clade 1b, the new variant is highly-transmissible and has been linked to the mpox outbreak in Africa.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is warning about a rise in mpox cases in the Los Angeles area and urging those at the highest risk of transmission to get vaccinated against the potentially serious disease.

mpox cases were reported in the county over the past four weeks, more than double the 24 that were reported in the previous four-week period.