MUMBAI: Samples of 15 people across Maharashtra have tested negative for monkeypox, the latest viral infection sweeping across the globe.
“Samples of the 15 suspected patients were tested at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, or Kasturba Hospital, Mumbai, and they were negative for the monkeypox virus,” said state surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate. The state has refused to divulge the location of patients due to fear of stigmatisation. Monkeypox, which belongs to the same variola virus family as smallpox, is characterised by fever, rash, muscle ache and swollen lymph nodes, among other symptoms.
“We, in Mumbai, have no experience of treating monkeypox but it is known to spread through direct contact. It isn’t an airborne disease like Covid-19,” said infectious diseases specialist Dr Vasant Nagvekar from H N Reliance Hospital. tnn
