Samples from Telangana's First Suspected Monkeypox Case Sent to Pune Lab, Man Stable

Hyderabad: A day after a 40-year-old man was hospitalised in Fever Hospital in the city after showing suspected symptoms of Monkeypox, Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said that people need not panic over Monkeypox as it is not a fatal disease. 

He said Telangana Health Minister Harish Rao was monitoring the situation and giving them directions. “We are taking all necessary measures,” he said.

The director of public health said the state health team started contact tracing as the man's six close contacts were identified. The contacts are asymptomatic, however, the authorities have kept them in isolation as a precautionary measure. The health department is also trying to trace those who came into contact with them during the last few days, he added. 

Five types of samples from a man with suspected symptoms of Monkeypox, currently in isolation at Fever Hospital, as the Sir Ronald Ross Institute for Tropical and Communicable Diseases is popularly known, were collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune on Monday. The samples from the patient include swab from throat, blood, urine, from lesions on skin. 

The lab report is likely to be available by Tuesday evening, Fever Hospital superintendent Dr K. Shankar, adding the condition of the man is stable, however, the patient is restless and has a running fever.

"The lesions on his neck, hands and chest are like lesions from Monkeypox. It may also be chickenpox," Dr Shankar said.

Also Read: Kamareddy Man Shows Symptoms of Monkeypox, Shifted to Fever Hospital in Hyderabad

The state health department has declared Fever Hospital a nodal centre for treatment of suspected Monkeypox cases. Two isolation wards with 36 beds have been set up for Monkeypox cases in the hospital. One isolation ward each was opened for male and female patients.