Dive Brief:
- Physicians in the U.S. and Puerto Rico should be able to order Zika screening tests as early as this week following the FDA's emergency use authorization for a screening test from Quest Diagnostics.
- So far, testing has been limited as physicians have had to rely on testing through a network of labs approved by the CDC in a process that can take several weeks.
- The new authorization should increase the U.S. capacity for Zika testing and decrease the turnaround time for receiving diagnoses as health experts prepare for a potential summer spike in U.S. infections from the mosquito-borne virus.
Dive Insight:
The broader testing availability could prove key to recognizing and managing Zika in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, experts say, and the timing couldn't be better given the arrival of summer, the impending impact of travel during the upcoming Olympics in Brazil, and confirmations that the virus is responsible for complications including microcephaly and Guillain Barre Syndrome. The U.S. reported its first Zika-related death last Friday when a man in Puerto Rico suffered thrombocytopenia as a rare side-effect.
Research published in March predicted at least 50 U.S. cities are in danger from the virus, American Health Line's First Look noted, adding, "According to the research, states in southern parts of the country could face the highest risk."
However, the recently-adjourned Senate still hasn't moved on President Obama's funding request to fight the virus.