The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has approved the manufacturing of three indigenously developed kits for detecting mpox (previously known as monkeypox). The approval criteria was a sensitivity and specificity of over 95%, the drug regulator said. These kits are developed by Siemens healthcare, Transasia diagnostics, and JITM C Genes. “These RT-PCR kits use fluid samples from pox rashes to examine the virus. These kits were validated by the ICMR, but there’s no commercial manufacturing, as it is not required,” a Health Ministry official said. These three approved kits are among the six validated by the ICMR to detect the viral infection. The ICMR had put out a call for companies to develop diagnostics and vaccines in 2022, when the first mpox cases were reported in India. The approval process for these detection kits was revived after the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this month declared mpox to be a PHEIC (Public Health Emergency of International Concern) for the second time in as many years; the outbreak between July 2022 and May 2023 was also declared as PHEIC. India has reported 30 mpox cases since 2022, with the latest recorded in March 2024. The infection was initially recorded in people with a history of international travel, but later among others too.