Vizag prepares for Mpox with 5-bed isolation wards

On August 27 2024, an announcement was made by the District Medical and Health officer, Dr Jagadiswara Rao stating that the state government set up five-bed isolation wards in Government Chest and Infectious Diseases Hospital, Visakhapatnam as a precaution for Monkeypox.

Visakhapatnam’s Port Health Officer, supported by a three-member COVID-19 team, was appointed as nodal officer to test suspected cases at the airport. If any symptoms of Monkeypox are detected, the person will be transferred to the Government Chest Hospital isolation wards in Visakhapatnam, to initiate the treatment under the guidance of an assistant professor P Venkaiah.

Once the samples are collected, the patients will be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune or SVMC in Tirupati. A Microbiology and VDRL lab in Visakhapatnam will also take the responsibility to conduct basic tests.  Even though the Monkeypox symptoms are similar to Chickenpox, patients with Mpox are suggested to go into isolation.

Two weeks ago, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency in response to the rapid global spread of  Mpox virus.

The threat of Mpox has been spreading to new regions beyond Africa. While the Union Government has assured that there are no severe cases in India so far, the preparedness for a potential outbreak is underway.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ), in partnership with Transasia Diagnostics recently announced the ErbaMDx Monkeypox RT-PCR Kit, India’s first indigenous RT-PCR kit for diagnosing the disease.

The kit features lyophilized components, allowing it to be shipped and stored at room temperature. It has undergone rigorous validation by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and has received emergency authorization from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which is part of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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