Abstract drawing of the monkeypox virus | Gerd Altmann/Pixabay
Abstract drawing of the monkeypox virus | Gerd Altmann/Pixabay
Thermo Fisher Scientific, an Asheville company, has come up with a PCR-based test that can positively detect specimens of monkeypox.
“Similar to our efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to providing genomic tools necessary to help address the Monkeypox outbreak,” Manoj Gandhi, the company’s senior director of Medical Affairs for Genetic Testing Solutions, said in a WLOS news report this week.
Once a specimen has come up positive with the PCR test, the sample can then be sent to a lab in Raleigh for validation.
There are currently fewer than 100 laboratories in the U.S. that are capable of handling specimens of monkeypox before they are sent off to the CDC, the news report said. Thermo Fisher’s work helps address the need for more surveillance testing capacity for monkeypox in America.
“We will continue to work with our customers and regulatory agencies to bring these products to market,” Gandhi told WLOS.
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