Roche Develops Test Kits to Detect Monkeypox Virus

Test tube labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" is seen in this illustration taken May 22, 2022. (Reuters)
Test tube labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" is seen in this illustration taken May 22, 2022. (Reuters)
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Roche Develops Test Kits to Detect Monkeypox Virus

Test tube labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" is seen in this illustration taken May 22, 2022. (Reuters)
Test tube labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" is seen in this illustration taken May 22, 2022. (Reuters)

Roche on Wednesday said the company and its unit have developed three test kits to detect the monkeypox virus, as the disease spreads in regions outside Africa, where the virus is not normally found.

There have been more than 200 suspected or confirmed cases in Europe and North America of monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization.

The Swiss company said one of the three LightMix Modular Virus kits detects orthopoxviruses, the biological grouping which includes viruses associated with monkeypox as well as smallpox and cowpox.

The second test detects only monkeypox viruses, specifically the West African and Central African strains. The third is for researchers and detects both orthopoxviruses and the monkeypox virus.



Philippines Shuts Schools, Scraps Flights as Typhoon Co-May Nears

Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
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Philippines Shuts Schools, Scraps Flights as Typhoon Co-May Nears

Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters. Ted ALJIBE / AFP
Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters. Ted ALJIBE / AFP

The Philippines shut down schools and cancelled flights Thursday as torrential rains driven by a typhoon and a separate tropical storm pounded the country's northern island of Luzon.

Typhoon Co-May, upgraded from a tropical storm overnight, follows days of monsoon rains that have killed at least 12 people and left another eight missing across the archipelago since July 18, according to the national disaster agency.

With maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) per hour, the typhoon was expected to make landfall on the west coast in either La Union or Ilocos Sur province by Friday morning, the country's weather service said.

Around 70 domestic and international flights have been cancelled due to the storms, the civil aviation authority said.

The government has announced the suspension of classes across Luzon for Thursday, said AFP.

Tens of thousands were evacuated across Manila earlier this week by floodwaters that swamped some neighborhoods in waist-deep water and left residents of nearby provinces stranded and in need of rescue by boat.

As of Thursday, at least several thousand people in Manila remained unable to return to their homes.

"We cannot send them home yet because it is still raining and some typhoons are still expected to affect the country," Ria Mei Pangilinan, a rescue coordinator in the capital, told AFP.

"There might be more (evacuees) if the rain does not stop."

Typhoon Co-May was about 210 kilometers off the country's west coast as of 11 am (0300 GMT).

Tropical Storm Francisco, meanwhile, was situated about 735 kilometers from the country's east coast and on a trajectory towards northern Taiwan.

The two storms are not believed to be on a collision path.