A suspected monkeypox case from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad has tested negative. The sample was sent to ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. A state government source told news agency ANI, “The sample of a suspected monkeypox case in Ghaziabad has been sent for testing, but it’s been unnecessary panic mongering. No monkeypox case has been reported in India so far.”
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Ghaziabad said that this test was a “precautionary measure” as the patient has no other health issues and did not have any close contact with anyone who has travelled abroad in the past month.
He told the news agency, “Samples of a five-year-old girl have been collected for testing for monekypox, as a precautionary measure, as she had complaints of itching and rashes on her body. She has no other health issues and neither she nor any of her close contacts travelled abroad in the past month.”
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry had issued “Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease” to ensure preparedness across the country given the reports of rising in monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries. As per these guidelines, a confirmed case is laboratory confirmed for monkeypox virus by detection of unique sequences of viral DNA either by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or sequencing.
They also include the epidemiology of the disease—host, incubation period, period of communicability and mode of transmission; contact and case definitions; clinical features and its complication, diagnosis, case management, risk communication, guidance on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) including use of personal protection equipment or PPE.
The guidelines further stated, “Contacts should be monitored at least daily for the onset of signs or symptoms for a period of 21 days (as per case definition) from the last contact with a patient or their contaminated materials during the infectious period.”
(With agency inputs)