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Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das on Saturday held a review meeting on Monkeypox with senior officials and said that the state is taking all necessary steps in view of the virus while also keeping an eye on the situation in the country.
An expert committee for the treatment of Monkeypox at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack has been formed by the Health department. "The State is fully prepared to and taking all necessary steps in view of the scare of Monkeypox virus, Government is keeping an eye on the situation in the country," the Minister said after the meeting. Das further said that there is no need to panic, however, added that people need to be vigilant. "The steps have also been taken by the department to make the testing facility available at ICMR, Bhubaneswar. We have requested the Centre to provide kits. There is no need to panic. People need to be vigilant and adhere to guidelines," he said. He further stated that by August 10, training will be imparted to the paediatric, skin and medical specialists and one Integrated Counselling & Testing Center (ICTC) from each district at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. As per the health department, they will be trained on symptoms and other aspects related to monkeypox after that a nodal officer will be appointed for monkeypox in each district of the state. All the medical colleges in the state have been directed to reserve at least two beds for the suspected Monkeypox cases. Meanwhile, amid the growing concerns over monkeypox, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday said the government is ready and alert against viral disease. According to NCDC director Dr Sujeet Singh, 15 testing labs have been started for monkeypox infection testing all over the country. "If any suspected case arrives then we immediately conduct the test. 15 testing labs and our NCDC lab have also started doing the test. Surveillance is also going on. As per the situation, we also modify our strategy and the government is ready and alert," said Dr Singh. "We are constantly doing meetings with all top officials of the Union Health Ministry to keep a close check on the overall situation," he added. Notably, India has reported four cases of monkeypox so far, of which three cases are from Kerala while one is from Delhi. Following this, the central government is on an alert even as the count of infections in some other countries has risen. (ANI)
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