Trivitron Healthcare, a Chennai-based medical devices company, said it had developed a real-time RT-PCR-based kit for the detection of the monkeypox virus. A four-colour fluorescence-based kit, the company has said it can differentiate between smallpox and monkeypox in a one-tube single reaction format. The test takes about one hour to detect the virus (if present), the company said, Hindustan Times reported.

In a statement released Friday, Trivitron Healthcare said both dry swabs and swabs placed in VTM (Viral Transport Media) could be used. “WHO-recommended specimen type for laboratory confirmation of monkeypox is skin lesion material, including swabs of lesion surface and/or exudate, roofs from more than one lesion, or lesion crusts,” the statement, cited by news agency ANI, said.

Over 200 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox – a disease normally endemic to forested parts of west and central Africa – have been reported from 20 countries, including those in Europe, the Middle East and North America, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said no monkeypox cases have been reported in India as yet. However, the government is prepped for the possibility, particularly since cases seem to be increasing globally.