HealthTrackRx develops monkeypox specific PCR test with next-day results
HealthTrackRx is now offering a molecular test for detection of the human monkeypox virus.
The test was developed by the company’s research and development team, and is available to the thousands of HealthTrackRx customers across the country in response to this rapidly growing public health emergency.
The HealthTrackRx assay is a pan-monkeypox test that detects both the West African and Congo basin strains of the virus, using the TaqMan multiplex real-time PCR technology from Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Martin Price, CEO and Chairman of HealthTrackRx stated: “In light of The WHO declaring the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency, and the proliferation of cases in our communities, we’re pleased to deploy a means of rapidly detecting this virus. Applying molecular diagnostics to detect infectious diseases and getting those results in healthcare providers’ hands by the next day is our mission, and is where we can make a difference in containing this crisis.”
Dr Vijay Singh, who led the research and development teams’ effort to develop and validate the assay stated:
“Testing is one of the first and most crucial strategies for containment of an infectious disease outbreak or pandemic. The non-endemic spread of human monkeypox is an urgent public health threat. The rapid development of the pan-Monkeypox Assay at HealthTrackRx, alongside our industry partners, demonstrates our commitment to public health by delivering solutions that accelerate results to patients.”
WHO recently declared monkeypox a global health emergency. The widespread availability of a human monkeypox test follows the company’s announcement last week that it has been working in partnership with the CDC to conduct an epidemiologic study that will contribute to understanding the spread of human monkeypox