India working on indigenous kit to test monkeypox as cases on the rise

At present, 15 VRDLs are equipped to test for monkeypox, including the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune

India is now developing its indigenous test kit for monkeypox after four laboratory (lab)-confirmed cases of the disease in the country. Makers of the TrueNat real-time polymerase chain reaction, the world’s only point-of-care platform used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to detect tuberculosis, is developing the test kit for monkeypox, indicated government sources.

“The reagents (chemicals) used to test for monkeypox are not made in India. Also, the diagnostic kit used to test for the disease is imported. The virus research and diagnostic labs (VRDLs) under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are using imported kits to confirm suspected