Ghaziabad girl suspected for monkeypox tests negative: Report

After monkeypox samples from a five-year-old child in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, were sent for testing, the suspected case was found to be negative on Tuesday.

The girl’s samples were transferred to the ICMR – National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing a few days ago. After the girl complained of itching and rashes on her body, the health department sent her samples.

While the government has stated that the reports are “unnecessary alarm mongering” and that no cases of the illness have been detected in India thus far.

The Chief Medical Officer of Ghaziabad said the test was just a “precautionary measure” as the girl has no other health issues and did not have close contact with anyone who has travelled abroad in the past month.

“Samples of a five-year-old girl have been collected for testing for monkeypox, as a precautionary measure, as she had complaints of itching and rashes on her body. She has no other health issues and neither she nor any of her close contacts travelled abroad in the past month,” CMO Ghaziabad said.

The Union Health Ministry had also issued “Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease” to ensure advance preparedness across the country, in view of the rising reports of monkeypox cases in non-endemic countries.

A confirmed case of Monkeypox virus is defined as the discovery of unique sequences of viral DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or sequencing, according to the criteria.