RT-PCR kit developed for testing monkeypox in India: Will give result in 40 minutes; WHO had declared Mpox a health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox i.e. monkeypox a global public health emergency on 14 August. This was the second time in two years that this disease was declared a health emergency. The new strain of this virus (Clad-1) is more contagious than the previous strain and its mortality rate is also high. Within 15 days of monkeypox being declared a public emergency, India has developed an RT-PCR kit to test this infection. The name of this kit is IMDX Monkeypox Detection RT-PCR Assay and it has been prepared by Siemens Healthineers. According to the company, test results will be available in just 40 minutes with this kit. This kit has been given clinical recognition by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. The Central Protection Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has approved the manufacture of this kit. This kit will give faster results than traditional methods
Hariharan Subramanian, Managing Director, Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, said that the need for accurate and correct diagnostics has never been as important as it is today. This kit will give results in just 40 minutes, which is much faster than traditional methods that give results in 1-2 hours. With the help of this kit, the time taken to detect monkeypox will be reduced, which will also speed up treatment. The IMDX Monkeypox RTPCR kit has been made under Indian statutory guidelines and is in accordance with global standards. The Vadodara unit has the capacity to make 10 lakh kits in a year
Siemens Healthcare Private Limited has said that this RT-PCR kit will be made in the company’s molecular diagnostics manufacturing unit located in Vadodara. This unit has the capacity to make 10 lakh kits in a year. The factory is ready to make these RT-PCR kits available. How will this RT-PCR kit work
The company said that this RT-PCR kit is a molecular test that targets two different regions in the genome of the virus, which can detect both Clade-I and Clade-II variants. This test kit has the ability to completely detect different viral strains and give comprehensive results. In particular, this kit can work on any platform and easily fits into the existing lab flowwork with standard PCR setup. This does not require any new instrument. Using the existing COVID testing infrastructure will increase its capacity. Monkeypox was first found in monkeys in 1958
Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958. Then two monkeys kept for research in Denmark showed symptoms of smallpox-like disease. Its first case in humans was found in a 9-year-old child in Congo in 1970. Generally, this disease spreads from rodents i.e. rats, squirrels and male monkeys. This disease can also spread from humans to humans. Its symptoms are similar to smallpox. In this, blisters or blisters appear on the body. These can be small granular or large. Pus is filled in these blisters or blisters. They gradually dry up and heal. During this, fever, stiffness and unbearable pain occur. In 2022, the World Health Organization decided that the name monkeypox is like a stigma for monkeys. This virus also comes from other animals besides monkeys. Therefore, its name was changed to Mpox. Now it is called Mpox all over the world. Mpox has spread to India in 2022
The monkeypox virus from Africa has reached neighboring country Pakistan. At present, three cases of monkeypox have been reported in Pakistan. All three cases have been found in people landing from international flights. It could not be ascertained which variant is in all three. A 34-year-old man from Mardan reached Pakistan from Saudi Arabia on August 3. He got tested after a week. On 13 August, it was confirmed that he had monkeypox. Another person has returned to Pakistan from Africa, information about the third is not known. Last year, a patient died of monkeypox in Pakistan. There is movement from Saudi Arabia and Africa to India as well. Therefore, there is a danger of monkeypox spreading in India. In 2022 also, India has been hit by monkeypox. The virus takes effect within 7 days of coming in contact with an infected person. Whenever a person comes in contact with a monkeypox patient, the virus enters the body of a healthy person. Within 3 to 7 days, this virus starts taking effect. People suffering from monkeypox are contagious. They can spread it to others until all the wounds heal and a new layer of skin is formed.