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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)
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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.

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Heavy Rain in Northern Japan Triggers Floods, Landslides

A road is flooded after a heavy rain in Sakata, Yamagata prefecture, northern Japan Friday, July 26, 2024. Heavy rain hit northern Japan Thursday, triggering floods and landslides, disrupting transportation systems and forcing hundreds of residents to take shelter at safer grounds. (Kyodo News via AP)
A road is flooded after a heavy rain in Sakata, Yamagata prefecture, northern Japan Friday, July 26, 2024. Heavy rain hit northern Japan Thursday, triggering floods and landslides, disrupting transportation systems and forcing hundreds of residents to take shelter at safer grounds. (Kyodo News via AP)
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Heavy Rain in Northern Japan Triggers Floods, Landslides

A road is flooded after a heavy rain in Sakata, Yamagata prefecture, northern Japan Friday, July 26, 2024. Heavy rain hit northern Japan Thursday, triggering floods and landslides, disrupting transportation systems and forcing hundreds of residents to take shelter at safer grounds. (Kyodo News via AP)
A road is flooded after a heavy rain in Sakata, Yamagata prefecture, northern Japan Friday, July 26, 2024. Heavy rain hit northern Japan Thursday, triggering floods and landslides, disrupting transportation systems and forcing hundreds of residents to take shelter at safer grounds. (Kyodo News via AP)

Heavy rain hit northern Japan Thursday, triggering floods and landslides, disrupting transportation systems and forcing hundreds of residents to take shelter at safer grounds.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued emergency warnings of heavy rain for several municipalities in the Yamagata and Akita prefecture, where warm and humid air was flowing.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged the affected area’s residents to “put safety first” and pay close attention to the latest information from the authorities.

According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, one person went missing in Yuzawa city — in the Akita prefecture — after being hit by a landslide at a road construction site.

Rescue workers in the city evacuated 11 people from the flooded area with the help of a boat.

In the neighboring Yamagata prefecture, more than 10 centimeters (4 inches) of rain fell in the hardest-hit Yuza and Sakata towns within an hour earlier Thursday.

Thousands of residents in the area were advised to take shelter at higher and safer grounds, but it was not immediately known how many people took that advice.

Yamagata Shinkansen bullet train services were partially suspended on Thursday, according to East Japan Railway Company.

The agency predicted up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) of more rainfall in the region through Friday evening, urging residents to remain cautious.