Mpox genome sequence to be done to find virus strain

All preventive measures taken against Nipah and Mpox as per the existing protocol, says Veena

Published - September 19, 2024 09:00 pm IST - MALAPPURAM

Minister for Health Veena George addressing a meeting of people’s representatives at Malappuram on Thursday.

Minister for Health Veena George addressing a meeting of people’s representatives at Malappuram on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

Minister for Health Veena George said here on Thursday that the Health department would conduct genome sequencing to find the genetic nature of the virus in the patient who tested positive for Mpox in the district.

A 38-year-old man who arrived from Dubai more than a week ago was admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri, with Mpox. His condition is stable.

Ms. George said that all preventive measures were taken against Nipah and Mpox as per the existing protocol.

The Minister said that the Mpox virus 2B strain has much less transmission capacity than the 1B strain found in Africa. “Finding the exact nature of the virus will help us take further preventive measures if needed,” she said.

The Health department has prepared a contact list of the Mpox patient with 23 persons on it. Those who travelled with the patient from Dubai were identified. Health officials said that there were 43 people on the travel contact list.

Ms. George said that everyone on the contact list of the Mpox patient were identified. “There is nothing to be worried about. People should take care to wear masks,” she said.

Ms. George also convened a meeting of people’s representatives in the district in view of the surfacing of one case each of Nipah and Mpox.

Minister for Sports V. Abdurahiman and Health department Additional Chief Secretary Rajan Namdev Khobragade joined the meeting through online mode. MLAs P.V. Anvar, A.P. Anil Kumar, P. Abdul Hameed, and U.A. Latheef, District Collector V.R. Vinod, Health department Director K.J. Reena, Perinthalmanna Subcollector Apurva Tripathi, district medical officer R. Renuka, Health deparment additional directors, National Health Mission district programme manager T.N. Anoop, Mampad grama panchayat president Srinivasan, Tiruvali grama panchayat president K. Ramankutty, Wandoor panchayat president Zeenath, and Edavanna panchayat president T. Abhilash were among those who attended the meeting.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.