Lab operator Quest Diagnostics said on Wednesday it will launch a test for H5N1 bird flu at the end of October after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave it contracts to support testing for two emerging infectious diseases, including the Oropouche virus.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The spread of bird flu among dairy herds and infections of 27 people this year have alarmed some public health experts.
More than 100 million U.S. chickens, turkeys and other birds have been eliminated by the virus since the outbreak began in 2022.
The CDC says that this year, there have been 91 cases of the Oropouche virus, which spreads primarily through bites from midges as well as from some mosquitoes.
Last month, the CDC issued a health alert to notify clinicians and public health authorities of an increase in Oropouche virus cases in the Americas region that has caused two deaths so far this year.
CONTEXT
Besides Quest, the CDC is working with four laboratory companies, including Aegis, ARUP, Ginkgo BioWorks and Labcorp, to develop tests for health outbreaks.
This will support the country’s preparedness for these threats by ensuring a commercial laboratory provider is able to supplement public health laboratories in case of an outbreak in people.
The CDC contract also provides Quest with funds to maintain testing readiness, such as for adequate supplies of equipment and chemical reagents used to perform the tests.
WHAT’S NEXT
Quest’s bird flu test will be available with a prescription.
Its laboratory in San Juan Capistrano, California, which developed the test, will also conduct the test.
The test is intended to be performed using respiratory specimens or specimens of the outer membrane of eyes collected from people suspected of having the virus, or who meet the CDC’s testing criteria.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
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