As monkey pox cases are on the rise worldwide, the United States has begun to expand testing through private diagnostic companies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on the 6th (local time) that Labcorp, a private diagnostic test company, will start testing for monkey pox from today.
The United States has been criticized for insufficient number of tests while testing suspected patients through public health facilities. In response, the health authorities have been preparing to expand the test so that private diagnostic test companies can use CDC reagents.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on the 22nd of last month that Lapcorp and five other testing companies would soon test for monkey pox.
The company conducts the test using the Orthopoxvirus reagent, which belongs to the virus family to which monkey pox belongs, owned by the CDC.
The CDC’s reagent will detect all non-smallpox true smallpox viruses, including monkey pox, and Labcorp said it will have the ability to perform more than 10,000 tests per week.
“All testing will first be conducted at our largest facility in North Carolina, with testing expanded to other locations as needed,” Labcorp’s chief medical officer, Brian Kavney, said in a statement. Labcorp receives samples from all over the country and tests them.
The CDC said that Labcorp’s incorporation of diagnostic testing will double the testing capacity.
The CDC recommends that anyone who presents a rash that appears to be monkeypox should seek immediate health advice by speaking with their health care provider even if they think they haven’t had contact with an infected person.
If it is determined that the test is necessary, the medical staff must order a test device from Labcorp and send a sample from the suspected patient to Labcorp to be tested positive.
Currently, more than 550 cases of monkey pox have been confirmed in 33 states in the United States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.