Quest Diagnostics begins Monkeypox testing nationwide

Beginning today, Quest Diagnostics will start testing for Monkeypox and is available to healthcare providers nationwide

(KYMA, KECY) - Quest Diagnostics begins Monkeypox testing and developed a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test using patient swab specimens to detect the virus and is now available nationwide to healthcare providers except New York.

Quest plans to offer monkeypox testing at their advanced laboratory in San Juan Capristrano, Calif. and accepts specimens nationwide.

The company's testing will increase their capacity through CDC's Laboratory Response Network (LRN), Labcorp and Mayo Clinic Laboratories with testing capacity of up to 60,000 specimens per week till the end of July.

If someone you know or yourself has a rash, talk to your healthcare provider to see if testing is needed first.

Quest is in the process of verifying CDC's orthopoxvirus test to make it available to healthcare providers in the first half of August.