Mayo Clinic Laboratories to Begin Monkeypox Testing
Health care providers, nationwide, can order the orthopoxvirus test from Mayo Clinic Laboratories
Starting today (July 11, 2022), Mayo Clinic Laboratories will begin testing for monkeypox using CDC’s orthopoxvirus test, which detects most non-smallpox related orthopoxviruses, including monkeypox.
“The ability of commercial laboratories to test for monkeypox is an important pillar in our comprehensive strategy to combat this disease,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH. “This will not only increase testing capacity but also make it more convenient for providers and patients to access tests by using existing provider-to-laboratory networks.”
Mayo Clinic Laboratories will offer this testing at its Mayo Clinic’s Division of Clinical Microbiology laboratories in Rochester, MN, and can accept specimens from anywhere in the country. Mayo Clinic Laboratories expects to be able to perform up to 10,000 tests per week, which will continue to increase the current capacity provided through CDC’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN) and Labcorp, which began testing last week.
On June 22, HHS announced
Anyone with a rash that looks like monkeypox should talk to their health care provider about whether they need to get tested, even if they don’t think they had contact with someone who has monkeypox. Health care providers, nationwide, can order the orthopoxvirus test from Mayo Clinic Laboratories just as they normally would order other tests. The public will not be able to go to a Mayo Clinic laboratory and submit a specimen. Mayo Clinic Laboratories will use electronic laboratory reporting to report results to jurisdictions as outlined in the CDC reporting guidance.
CDC anticipates additional commercial laboratories