Wisconsin DHS Health Alert #47: Expanded Monkeypox Testing Capacity
Bureau of Communicable Diseases
July 19, 2022
Key Points
- Aegis, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic, Quest, and Sonic Healthcare USA are now conducting fee for service monkeypox testing.
- DHS is no longer requiring clinicians to obtain approval for monkeypox testing.
- DHS is providing specific public health criteria for using fee exempt testing at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene and Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory.
- Patients with monkeypox lab tests pending, should be advised to isolate at home until results are available.
- Monkeypox remains reportable in Wisconsin as a Category I Condition. Clinicians must report suspected and confirmed monkeypox cases IMMEDIATELY by telephone to the patient’s local health department.
New Monkeypox Testing Guidance
Over the past week, several commercial laboratories including Aegis, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic, Quest, and Sonic Healthcare USA have brought on fee for service monkeypox testing which has greatly increased the capacity to conduct monkeypox testing in Wisconsin. More commercial and clinical laboratories are expected to begin conducting testing in the coming weeks. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory (MHDL) also continue to conduct fee exempt monkeypox testing. With this increased capacity, DHS is no longer requiring clinicians to obtain approval from DHS for monkeypox testing. Patients must have lesions and symptoms consistent with monkeypox to be eligible for testing at any laboratory.
Patients must have lesions and symptoms consistent with monkeypox and meet one or more of the following criteria to qualify for fee-exempt testing at public health labs (WSLH and MHDL):
- Patient is uninsured or underinsured (for whom cost would pose a barrier to getting tested).
- The patient’s clinician is unable to send specimens to one of the commercial or clinical lab conducting monkeypox testing.
- Patient is a known contact to a monkeypox case.
- Patient reported skin-to-skin contact with someone in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity; this includes men who have sex with men.
- Other priority testing (such as patients from areas with confirmed cases of monkeypox) as authorized by DHS.
As long as the patient meets one of these criteria, pre-approval from DHS is not needed to test at WSLH or MHDL. Public health monkeypox testing at WSLH and MHDL is conducted Monday through Friday. DHS may authorize weekend testing at WSLH if an expedited test result is deemed necessary by DHS. Clinicians should call DHS at 608-267-9003 for pre-approval when requesting weekend testing. Otherwise, specimens arriving on the weekends without pre-approval will be tested the following Monday. Testing at public health labs (WSLH and MHDL) can expedite the identification contacts by public health staff and interventions to decrease transmission of monkeypox.
Clinicians should advise any patient being tested for monkeypox to isolate at home until results are returned.
While this HAN removes the requirement for monkeypox testing approval, as a Category I Condition in Wisconsin, clinicians must report suspected and confirmed monkeypox cases IMMEDIATELY by telephone to the patient’s local health department.
Clinicians should review testing submission and acceptable specimen types for the laboratory conducting their testing.
Resources
A new DHS resource on monkeypox testing for clinicians is now available. Refer to list of resources below for specific testing instructions for each commercial lab.
Sincerely,
Ryan Westergaard, MD, PhD, MPH
Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist for Communicable Diseases
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
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