VIJAYAWADA: In a relief to the State medical and health department, the samples of a three-year-old girl, suspected to be affected by monkeypox, tested negative on Sunday. The girl and her family had landed in New Delhi from Dubai on July 11. On the same day, they flew to their home town, Vijayawada. The toddler developed fever and rashes, both symptoms of the zoonotic disease after the family had reached home.
On the advice of an Asha worker, the girl’s parents took her to the Old Government General Hospital in Vijayawada on Saturday. The doctors at the GGH provided basic treatment and kept the family under observation.
“The child was isolated and her blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune,” Commissioner of Medical, Health and Family welfare J Nivas said. Stating that the girl’s test reports were negative, Nivas asserted that there was no need to panic as there were no monkeypox cases in the State.
NTR District Medical and Health Officer Dr Macharla Suhasini clarified that the child was suffering from fever and rashes. India’s first case of monkeypox was reported in Kerala after a 35-year-old man returned to Kollam from UAE. Soon, the Centre rushed a team of experts to Kerala to monitor the situation.
Monkeypox is an illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It is a viral infection that can spread from animals to humans. It can also spread from person to person.
Common symptoms
Fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes are the most common symptoms, followed or accompanied by rashes which can last for two to three weeks