Virology lab now offering monkeypox testing

The UW Medicine Virology Laboratory recently became one of the few clinical reference labs in the country to establish testing for monkeypox. King County officials say the virus is likely spreading through local transmission, with 14 probable and confirmed cases detected in the county as July 8.

“Our turnaround time is one to two days right now,” said Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “This is something we do all the time, for lots and lots and lots of DNA viruses.”

Healthcare providers can order testing through UW Medicine's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology if they suspect a patient has contracted the monkeypox virus.

“We also have all of our sequencing up,” said Greninger, an assistant director of the lab. “The same things that we’ve done for COVID-19, we'll be doing for monkeypox, as well.”

Learn more about the current monkeypox outbreak through the CDC’s Situation Summary.

Download broadcast-ready soundbites on the UW Medicine Virology Laboratory's monkeypox testing efforts