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All samples will be referred through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network

All samples will be referred through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network

After being the first laboratory in Tamil Nadu to initiate COVID-19 testing and having tested about 31 lakh samples so far, the Department of Virology, King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research (KIPMR), will now test samples for monkeypox.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, who inspected the facilities at the laboratory on Thursday, told reporters that clinical specimens collected from the skin, lesions, urine, serum/plasma would be tested for monkeypox at the 123-year-old KIPMR.

According to a release, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)/National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, trained the laboratory, along with 15 facilities in the country, to initiate monkeypox testing. All samples would be referred through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine/the Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network to KIPMR and tested by real-time PCR. The sample should be accompanied with the clinical history.

There would be parallel testing at NIV, Pune, and the results would be released after confirmation by NIV, Pune, initially, the release said.

Monkeypox has been reported in 77 countries. In India, four cases have been reported so far and there has been no case in Tamil Nadu, he said.

Samples of two persons who had returned from Canada and the U.S. were sent for testing to NIV, Pune, after they developed lesions on the face last month. Both samples were negative for monkeypox. There has been no case of monkeypox in Tamil Nadu so far, he said.

He added that there was mass fever screening at the international airports. An advisory was issued to screen passengers travelling from the 77 countries or on transit. They were screened for symptoms, including for lesions, he said.

The Department of Virology of KIPMR is a World Health Organization (WHO)-National Polio Laboratory, a WHO reference laboratory for measles and rubella and an ICMR/DHR regional influenza referral laboratory as well. It also serves as the State-level Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory under ICMR/DHR, the release said.

Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar, Director of Medical Education R. Narayana Babu, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine T.S. Selvavinayagam and Director of KIPMR Kaveri were present.

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King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research to test samples for monkeypox - The Hindu

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