Kamareddy man tests negative for monkeypox

HYDERABAD: Health officials breathed a sigh of relief as the suspected case of monkeypox was declared as negative by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, on Tuesday.

“There is no need to panic,” said Dr Srinivasa Rao, State Director of Public Health.A 35-year-old man who had returned from Kuwait to Kamareddy had lesions on his skin which was suspected to be monkeypox. The patient was rushed to the Fever Hospital in Hyderabad.

Five types of samples including blood, urine and swabs from lesions and throat were sent to NIV-Pune by Monday whose results arrived on Tuesday evening. The lesions on his body were the same as a patient developing monkeypox. As the results have turned out to be negative, the patient will be tested for chickenpox, said Dr K Shankar, the Superintendent of Fever Hospital.As of now, the patient’s condition is stable. None of the family members or close contacts of the patient have developed any symptoms.

Alert in Khammam over another suspected case

A 35-year-old man from Arempulla village in Khammam has been admitted to Fever Hospital with symptoms resembling monkeypox. The patient works in a granite factory in Lucknow. He arrived in the State on July 20 with no symptoms of fever or cough which are usually seen in monkeypox.

However, he had a rash all over his body. An RMP brought the patient to a private hospital on Tuesday. The hospital suspected the case to be one of monkeypox and referred the patient to the government hospital in the evening.  However, the Khammam DMHO said there was no cause for alarm. She said that the patient has psoriasis for which he has been under treatment for two months