Nagpur: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) as of August 14, 2024, due to the emergence of a new strain of the virus, Clade Ib. In response to the growing concern over this new strain, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Health Research (DHR) have designated AIIMS Nagpur as a Regional Testing Centre for Monkeypox (Mpox), making it one of the 35 laboratories across India authorized to test suspected cases.

Prof. Dr. Prashant Joshi, Executive Director of AIIMS Nagpur, emphasized that there is no need for panic. He assured that the Viral Research Diagnosis Laboratory (VRDL) at AIIMS Nagpur, under the leadership of Dr. Meena Mishra, Principal Investigator and Head of the Department of Microbiology, is fully equipped to handle Mpox testing. The laboratory has received the necessary testing kits and reagents from the ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, and is currently accepting samples suspected of Mpox from across Vidarbha and adjoining areas.

Dr. Meena Mishra highlighted that the VRDL at AIIMS Nagpur is a state-of-the-art facility that has been instrumental in testing over 5 lakh Covid-19 samples, along with samples for other viral diseases such as Influenza, Hepatitis-B, Hepatitis-C, Human Papilloma Virus, Dengue, and Chikungunya. The laboratory is now prepared to test and diagnose suspected cases of Mpox, contributing to the region's efforts to manage the public health threat posed by the new strain.