The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), started shipping monkeypox tests to five commercial laboratory companies to increase monkeypox testing capacity and access.
The companies include Aegis Science, Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH), Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Inc (NYSE:DGX), and Sonic Healthcare.
Health care providers will be able to use these laboratories by early July, and testing capacity through these companies will be ramped up throughout the month.
Related: WHO Says Monkeypox Outbreak' Unusual' But 'Containable.'
"By dramatically expanding the number of testing locations throughout the country, we are making it possible for anyone who needs to be tested to do so," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Bloomberg reported that all tests previously needed to go through the government's lab network, which could lead to delays in identifying new cases or miss wider community spread.
As of June 21, 142 monkeypox cases in the U.S. across 24 states and Washington have been reported. Since the first case was reported to the CDC on May 17, 2022, HHS has worked to increase testing capacity and accessibility.
Photo via Pixabay
