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Snapshot 1:Fri, Oct 4, 2024 6:08:17 PM GMT last edited by Brian

WHO Approves First PCR Test for Mpox

Above: Two workers from the NGO Alima walk in the courtyard of the mpox treatment centre in Kamituga, South Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on September 20, 2024. Image copyright: Glody Murhabazi/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images

The Facts

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first diagnostic test for mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. The PCR test detects "DNA from pustular or vesicular rash samples" from skin lesions, according to the agency.

  • The approval of the Alinity m mpox test test, which was developed by Abbott Laboratories, comes as the WHO is reviewing three diagnostic tests for emergency use.

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