Mayo Clinic begins monkeypox testing in Rochester with CDC kits

The Mayo Clinic can now test for monkeypox with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) orthopoxvirus test kit, the clinic says.

Mayo Clinic’s microbiology laboratories are expected to perform up to 10,000 tests each week, according to the CDC.

The Mayo Clinic Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology will conduct testing in Rochester, and the clinic says it will increase test availability if needed.

Health care providers that use Mayo Clinic Laboratories as their reference lab can connect patients with testing options. The CDC says the Rochester clinic can accept specimens from anywhere in the U.S.

The CDC began widespread testing for monkeypox on July 6. The centers say testing capacity is expected to expand throughout July.

RELATED: CDC announces launch of broad monkeypox testing as US cases rise

Data updated Friday confirms eight monkeypox cases in Minnesota and 767 cases in the U.S., although Monday’s numbers have yet to be posted. The CDC’s 2022 case count map is updated on weekdays.

The CDC advises anyone with a rash that looks like monkeypox to talk to their health care provider about whether or not they need to get tested, even if they don’t think they had contact with someone who has monkeypox. Health care providers can then direct patients to the proper testing resources.

Due to potentially harmful racial stigmas, medical authorities are working to change the name of the monkeypox virus and the disease it causes, the World Health Organization announced in a June 14 press conference. WHO has not yet announced any name change updates.