Monkeypox: All 15 samples from Maharashtra test negative

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All 15 suspected monkeypox samples from Maharashtra have tested negative for the viral disease, a senior health department official said here on Tuesday.

Eight cases of monkeypox have been reported so far in India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Madaviya said earlier in the day.

"We had sent samples of 15 suspected patients from Maharashtra for testing and the results of all of them are negative," Dr Pradip Awate, surveillance officer of the health department, told PTI.

The samples were tested at the National Institute of Virology, Pune and Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai, he added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern.

As per the Guidelines on Management of Monkeypox Disease issued by the Union government, human-to-human transmission of the disease occurs primarily through large respiratory droplets generally requiring prolonged close contact.

It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesions, and indirect contact with lesion material such as through contaminated clothing or linen of an infected person.

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