Sri Lanka has necessary means to test for Monkeypox: Dr. Jeewandara

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka has necessary means to test and diagnose for Monkeypox, says the head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology at Sri Jayewardenepura University, Dr. Chandima Jeewandara.

Accordingly, he states that the lab in Sri Lanka has all the necessary infrastructure to diagnose, and the reagents have been ordered already.

First identified in monkeys, the disease typically spreads through close contact and has rarely spread outside Africa, so this series of cases has triggered concern.

However, scientists do not expect the outbreak to evolve into a pandemic like COVID-19, given the virus does not spread as easily as SARS-COV-2.

Monkeypox is usually a mild viral illness, characterized by symptoms of fever as well as a distinctive bumpy rash.

The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting on Friday (20) to discuss the recent outbreak of Monkeypox, a viral infection more common to west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe.

In what Germany described as the largest outbreak in Europe ever, cases have been reported in at least nine countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom - as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.