Following reports of the death of a person at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) due to monkeypox on Saturday, the hospital's superintendent, Dr Abhijit Sarma responded by denying all such claims. Dr Sarma confirmed that no case of monkeypox is currently being treated at GMCH, terming media reports false.

Dr Abhijit Sarma, in a social media post said, "No such death has been reported by GMCH authorities." He further said that the misinformation has caused unnecessary panic among the public.

The GMCH superintendent, meanwhile, said that the case being reported was that of chickenpox, and not monkeypox.

This comes amidst reports earlier today that a patient admitted to the Neuro Surgery Department of the Cardiothoracic and Neuroscience Centre died from monkeypox.

It was also reported that three GMCH staff members — a nurse, a technician, and a ward boy — had been identified for coming into contact with the deceased recently and were infected. Moreover, another individual was said to be suffering from the disease, with the reports stating that the patient is stable and being monitored.

Notably, India confirmed its first case of monkeypox or mpox involving the fast-spreading clade 1b variant, marking the first recorded instance of the new strain in South Asia in September, this year. The case, reported in Kerala, involved a 38-year-old man who had recently travelled from the United Arab Emirates.

The country's Health Ministry spokesperson, Manisha Verma, confirmed the detection of the strain, following reports from the Malappuram district last week. "The case was identified as clade 1," Verma stated after ANI cited official sources.