Gaya man’s samples sent for monkeypox test to AIIMS-Delhi

The man is undergoing treatment at the Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College Hospital (ANMMCH), Gaya, where he was admitted on July 30, said health officials.

The Bihar health department on Monday sent its first sample to test for monkeypox after a 22-year-old migrant labourer from Gaya was reported to have its symptoms, said state health officials.

The samples have been sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. (HT Photo)

The samples have been sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

The man, a resident of Fatehpur block in Gaya district, is undergoing treatment at the Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College Hospital (ANMMCH), Gaya, where he was admitted on July 30, said health officials.

“The man had returned from Delhi on July 28. He showed fever and rashes. We have collected the man’s samples and sent them for test to the AIIMS, New Delhi,” said district epidemiologist Dr Priyanka Kumari.

It could take up to 36 hours to get the result, said state health officials.

The earlier scare of monekypox on July 26 had turned out to be a hoax. Though the health department had collected serum, urine and swab samples of a 45-year-old woman from Patna City, but they were not sent for test as doctors later found that she did not have fever and eruptions with pus and crust formation on her hands.

The most common symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. This is followed or accompanied by the development of a rash which can last for two to three weeks.

Bihar does not have testing facility for monkeypox. The Centre has approved only 15 laboratories for its testing, which includes the National Institute of Virology, Pune, the AIIMS-Delhi and the Indian Council of Medical Research laboratory in Kolkata.