According to the search results provided by You.com, mpox testing involves evaluating symptoms, such as fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, along with a detailed history of potential exposure. The primary diagnostic method is Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, which detects the virus’s genetic material in samples taken from skin lesions. The specimens will be tested in a lab to see if the mpox virus is detected, and results are usually available within a few days.
To get tested, contact your local health department with any questions and to find out what the testing options are for your community. You will likely need to fill out paperwork before you get tested. To get a specimen to test, the healthcare provider will use a swab to rub vigorously across lesions of your rash. They will take swabs from more than one lesion. This swabbing may be uncomfortable but is necessary to get enough material to detect the mpox virus from the specimens.
It is recommended to use sterile, synthetic swabs with plastic, wood, or thin aluminum (wire) shafts to collect suspected or confirmed mpox specimens for diagnostic testing. Skin lesion material, including swabs of lesion surface, exudate, or lesion crusts, are the recommended specimen types for laboratory testing of mpox virus specimens.
Testing for mpox allows clinicians to treat the illness and trace cases to minimize the spread. If you notice lesions, you should contact your health provider to ask whether you might have mpox and request a test. Some people experience the early flu-like symptoms of mpox days before lesions appear, so it is important to seek medical attention if you are experiencing symptoms.
It is important for anyone in high-risk groups, including children, people who are pregnant, and people who are immunosuppressed, to seek health advice, including getting tested and, if needed, receiving the appropriate care to manage their symptoms. Testing is also a vital tool in helping end the outbreak, and it is important to take precautions to protect others if you test positive for mpox.
The Quest test can differentiate Mpox viral DNA from other non-variola orthopoxviruses in a specimen, helping to enable faster final diagnosis. Test results are intended to be used in conjunction with clinical observations and epidemiological risk factors, and should not be used as the sole basis of treatment or other patient management decisions.