CDC Updates Laboratory Community on Monkeypox Lab Procedures, Specimen Collection

On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released several updates for Monkeypox Virus on its Laboratory Procedures and Preparation and Collection of Specimens webpages.

The updated Laboratory Procedures page provides in-depth biosafety guidance for laboratory personnel and includes information about manipulating diagnostic specimens, culture-based testing, waste disposal, and more. The updated Preparation and Collection of Specimens page clarifies that laboratory personnel may use any type of synthetic swab (including, but not limited to polyester, nylon, or Dacron), but CDC discourages the use of cotton swabs.

Please review the Laboratory Procedures page and the Preparation and Collection of Specimens page for more information. 

In addition, the following links may be of interest

• Monkeypox Information for Laboratory Personnel
• Monkeypox Information for Healthcare Professionals
• U.S. Monkeypox 2022: Situation Summary
• Real-time PCR assays for the specific detection of monkeypox virus West African and Congo Basin strain DNA
• Detection of monkeypox virus with real-time PCR assay