DuPage County Outpatient/Emergency Department Clinicians, Infectious Diseases Physicians, Hospital Infection Preventionists, and Laboratory Professionals,

Please read and reference the CDC and IDPH guidance for mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) virus diagnostic testing and resources, and share this information with your providers and colleagues as relevant. 

Commercial lab testing has become available, and healthcare providers are encouraged to order testing for patients meeting clinical criteria through commercial laboratories.

Patients should be advised to isolate until results are known, and if positive, until all sores have healed, and a fresh layer of skin has formed. 

Providers are to collect two samples from a lesion using sterile dry polyester, rayon or Dacron swabs that should be readily available in most offices.

Mpox testing not performed at a commercial lab, public health approval for mpox testing is required before specimens may be sent to Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). 

For additional information on mpox testing : CDC Guidelines for Collecting and Handling Specimens for Mpox Testing

For general mpox information, resources, and DuPage County data, click here. 

Last Updated 4/17/2023