Tamil Nadu has formed special medical teams based on the directive of National Centre for Disease Control to test passengers for monkeypox disease, State Minister Ma Subramanian said on Saturday. The Minister for Medical and Family Welfare inspected the measures taken at the Chennai airport here to check passengers arriving from various locations after the first monkeypox case was reported in Kerala recently.

Subramanian said the government has screened 4.84 lakh people who arrived from various destinations from May 22 till date to Tamil Nadu. At the Chennai international airport alone, 3.67 lakh people were screened since May, he said. “In addition, all district Health department officials have been advised to set up special wards for monkey pox disease and instructions have been given to them to nominate special doctors in those wards to treat patients,” he told reporters.