Specimen Collection
Specimen Collection/Transport requirements
DO NOT use a flimsy flocked swab (such as nasopharyngeal swabs). Please use a thick shaft swab.
Specimen transport requirements:
Same-day transport at room temperature is acceptable. If transport or testing is delayed beyond 24 hours, refrigerate the specimen (2 - 8
0
C) and transport chilled (e.g. using ice packs).
Reference Intervals
Qualitative results
(detected / not detected) reported
Turnaround Time: Between 1 day and 2 days
24 - 48 hours from sample receipt into the laboratory.
Assay Method
Qualitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (detected / not detected).
This is an in-house assay performed on the Quant Studio 5 platform.
Diagnostic Use and Interpretation
Mpox PCR detects Monkeypox virus (MPXV) and is used to diagnose acute infection in patients with a clinically compatible presentation.
Please note Mpox is a
notifiable condition
.
Contact Information
Urgent enquiries:
-
In normal working hours (0800-1600 Mon-Fri) contact Clinical Virology via LabLINK (internal extension 22000, external number 093078995).
-
Outside of normal working hours (evenings and weekends) contact the On Call Clinical Microbiologist via Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland main switchboard (093670000).
Non-urgent enquiries:
email
ak-mol-inf-dis@tewhatuora.govt.nz
Specimen Transport Instructions for Referring Laboratories
Please see
Specimen Collection
requirements above.