Delhi [India]: Two out of the 12 samples collected by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi tested positive for monkeypox, said officials on Friday.
Following the confirmation, these patients were admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) hospital. “Both the patients who tested positive for monkeypox here have no recent travel history. So, far there is really more than enough capacity in the country to do the testing. 15 labs are already authorised by ICMR for testing across the country,” said Dr Lalit Dar, Professor, Dept of Microbiology, AIIMS.
Earlier, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has tested 12 samples of suspected Monkeypox cases so far, said an official on Thursday.
The Virology Lab, AIIMS, Delhi is one of the 15 labs in the country that has been authorised by the Department of Health Research-Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Speaking to ANI, Dr Lalit Dar, Professor, Department of Microbiology, AIIMS said, “At the Virology Laboratory Department of Microbiology, we have received 12 samples from different states. We have also received samples from Delhi.”
AIIMS, Delhi received samples from Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana so far.
Pertinent to mention, two samples of Delhi tested positive for Monkeypox and both the patients are admitted at LNJP hospital.
“Out of these 12 samples, who have tested positive and they are both from Delhi,” Dr Dar said. He said some of the samples tested positive for chicken pox.
Notably, the patients who tested positive for Monkeypox in the AIIMS lab do not have any recent travel history abroad.
On the capacity of conducting tests, Dr Lalit said, “Right now we are getting a couple of samples on daily basis, which is not a large number. During COVID, the government augmented the RTPCR testing capacity. For Monkeypox, RTPCR is done. We have the capacity of conducting 400 samples a day depending on requirement and number of patients.”
He further said, “So, far there is really more than enough capacity in the country to do the testing. 15 labs are already authorized by the Department of Health Research, ICMR for testing across the country.”
The laboratory staff in AIIMS, Delhi has received training from ICMR-NIV Pune for conducting real-time RTPCR, Biosafety measures, storage and transportation of samples, Dr Lalit said.
