A test tube labelled 'Mpox virus positive' is held (Representative Image).
Credit: Reuters Photo
Chennai: A 27-year-old native of Thiruvarur district, who had arrived from Sharjah, has tested negative for monkey pox, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said here on Saturday.
A sample has, however, been sent to Pune-based National Institute of Virology to get it retested for confirmation, the minister told reporters. On October 31, upon his arrival at Tiruchirappalli airport from the UAE, during screening, he displayed fever symptoms and small skin lesions. Hence, he was taken to KAP Government Medical College Hospital.
Subramanian said the returnee had been frightened and hence left for his hometown of Valangaiman in Thiruvarur district. "This treatment is for his good and in order to prevent the spread of infection," the minister said.
Hence, he was brought back to the hospital by the authorities with police help and he has been receiving good treatment at the state-run facility. Further, Subramanian said that the first test result, showing negative for presence of mpox virus, was from the government-run King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here and it indicated Chickenpox.
Screening at airports for passengers arriving from foreign countries is going on continuously in the state and international airports have dedicated isolated rooms.
Special wards are ready in government medical college hospitals, including those in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli, to provide treatment for mpox, in case anyone tests positive for the infection, the minister added.