India had on Monday reported a second confirmed case of monkeypox from Kerala’s Kannur district
The Kerala government on Tuesday started testing for monkeypox infection at the Alappuzha NIV, state Health Minister Veena George said. George said the testing kits were brought from Pune National Institute of Virology (NIV) and samples from various districts are now being sent to Alappuzha.
“We were able to set up this testing centre in the state within three to four days after the first monkeypox infection was detected. With this, the delay of sending samples to Pune and awaiting results can now be avoided,” George said in a release
She said monkeypox is confirmed through RT-PCR testing using samples from the patient’s nose and throat
The Minister also said that there are 28 government labs in the state that can conduct COVID RT-PCR tests and these labs can be put to use if the number of cases increase.
India had on Monday reported a second confirmed case of monkeypox from Kerala’s Kannur district. It was a patient, who arrived in Kerala on July 13, was a native of Kannur in north Kerala and was undergoing treatment at the Pariyaram Medical College there.
The first case of monkeypox, a rare but potentially serious viral illness, was reported from Kollam district of south Kerala on July 14. He is currently undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.
Both their samples were sent to the NIV, Pune, and they tested positive for the virus.
The minister also said that all those who were in close contact with the patient are being closely monitored.
According to the World Health Organisation, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals), with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important orthopoxvirus for public health