Monkeypox scare: ICMR trains 15 research centres across India for detection of virus

New Delhi, July 15: A day after India detected its first monkeypox case in Kerala, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Friday said that 15 research and diagnostic laboratories have been trained across the country for the detection of the virus. India on Thursday detected the first case of monkeypox in Kerala's Kollam district.

Taking to Twitter, the ICMR wrote,''To help the country's preparedness for monkeypox detection, 15 Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories across the country, which are geographically well distributed and strategically located, have already been trained in the diagnostic test by ICMR -NIV, Pune.''

The Union Ministry of Health on Thursday rushed a high-level multi-disciplinary team to Kerala to collaborate with the state health authorities in instituting public health measures in viewof the confirmed case of monkeypox in Kollam district.

The central team will comprise experts drawn from the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. RML Hospital, New Delhi and a senior official from the Ministry of Health along with experts from the Regional Office of Health and Family Welfare, Kerala.

Earlier, the Centre asked states to ensure screening and testing of all suspect cases at points of entry and in the community as part of India's preparedness against the disease.

In its advisory that came amid rise in such cases globally, the government of India also asked the states and Union Territories to identify hospitals and ensure adequate human resources and logistic support to manage any suspect or confirmed monkeypox case.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 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.