Nationwide Monkeypox Testing Capacity Increasing

What began as a few cases has now evolved into a much larger cause for concern across the United States. Monkeypox cases are being undercounted and taken lightly by many states, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the President, believes that this spread is only bound to get worse without proper testing and tracking. “This is something we definitely need to take seriously. We don’t know the scope and the potential of it yet, but we have to act like it will have the capability of spreading much more widely than it’s spreading right now,” he said in an interview with CNN.  

With the virus now spreading more rapidly, multiple laboratory service providers including Sonic Healthcare USA, Aegis, and Quest Diagnostics began expanding monkeypox testing availability, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

According to the press release for Quest Diagnostics, “Quest will offer monkeypox virus testing at the company’s advanced laboratory in San Juan Capistrano, California and can accept specimens from anywhere in the country.” In similar form, Sonic Healthcare and Aegis will offer expanded testing at their respective facilities in Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, while also accepting samples nationwide.  

As the CDC stated, “Additional commercial laboratories will come online in the coming days, and monkeypox testing capacity will continue to increase throughout the month of July.” These commercial laboratories offering testing will help to track monkeypox spread more effectively and hopefully prevent the virus from spreading even further and harming immunocompromised Americans already struggling with COVID-19 and other health risks.  

Watch and learn more about this issue with Dr. Gavin Macgregor-Skinner, senior director of GBAC.