Sonic Healthcare USA Announces Testing Availability For Monkeypox

Austin, TX /PRNewswire/ - This week, Sonic Healthcare USA (Sonic) began testing for Monkeypox (MPXV), using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Non-variola Orthopoxvirus, high complexity NAAT (RT-PCR) molecular assay. The test is performed at Sonic Reference Laboratory in Austin, TX, and is available for providers to order through all Sonic clinical laboratories located across the United States.

"Being a medically-led organization, Sonic Healthcare USA is uniquely equipped to respond quickly and in close coordination with the CDC to these types of disease outbreaks," said Jerry Hussong, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Sonic Healthcare USA.

Sonic Healthcare USA's Medical and Scientific leaders will continue to monitor the U.S. Monkeypox outbreak and expand testing access. According to the CDC, there are currently over 1000 cases confirmed in the United States. The CDC recommends that healthcare providers be alert for patients with a rash consistent with Monkeypox regardless of risk factors previously associated with the virus.

Monkeypox is a rare disease not known to cause widespread infection outside Central and West Africa. Symptoms include a characteristic rash, which may be confused with common skin infections, such as varicella (chickenpox/shingles), herpes simplex virus, and syphilis.

About Sonic Healthcare USA
Sonic Healthcare USA is a subsidiary of Sonic Healthcare Limited, one of the world's largest medical diagnostic companies, providing laboratory services to medical practitioners, hospitals and community health services, with operations in seven countries, on three continents and providing care to over 100 million patients each year. Sonic Healthcare USA is a leading provider of state-of-the-art laboratory and pathology services throughout the USA with eight operating divisions and over eight thousand US based employees. Sonic Healthcare USA utilizes a federated business model that emphasizes medical leadership and community based testing services to provide outstanding quality and service to doctors and the patients that they serve. For more information, visit the Sonic Healthcare website at www.sonichealthcareusa.com.

References:
https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/about.html. July 2022

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/index.html July 2022

https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/us-map.html. July 13, 2022.