India News | Kerala Starts Monkeypox Testing at Alappuzha NIV Lab, Says Health Minister
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Kerala government on Tuesday started testing for monkeypox infection at the Alappuzha NIV, state Health Minister Veena George said.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 19 (PTI) The Kerala government on Tuesday started testing for monkeypox infection at the Alappuzha NIV, state Health Minister Veena George said.
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George said the testing kits were brought from Pune 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 National Institute of Virology (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.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)