Quest Diagnostics Introduces Testing for Oropouche Virus

Quest Diagnostics has launched a new diagnostic laboratory test for the Oropouche virus, an emerging disease increasingly found in South and Central America and the Caribbean.

“As one of the leading providers of laboratory testing, Quest plays an essential role in ensuring the U.S. is prepared to respond to potentially dangerous emerging diseases, such as Oropouche virus,” Quest Diagnostics Senior Vice President/Chief Medical Officer Yuri Fesko, M.D., said. “By developing this test, we are prepared to act quickly to offer scalable testing to complement public health labs should this virus become a public health threat.”

Oropouche virus is an emerging virus in the Americas that is spread to people by infected biting midges and some mosquito species. While the current threat to the public in North America remains low, Oropouche virus has been reported in parts of South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, with the majority of infected individuals becoming symptomatic. Cases reported in the United States have been limited to travelers returning from countries with local transmission. Oropouche viral disease presents clinically with symptoms that overlap with those of other arboviral diseases such as Dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. While most people recover on their own, Oropouche virus can also cause more severe neuroinvasive disease like meningitis and encephalitis.

The test is available with a prescription from a provider for clinical purposes. Quest Diagnostics’s advanced laboratory in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., developed and will perform the test using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, with serology testing to follow later this quarter. Reverse transcription PCR testing can identify the RNA of the virus during the early stages of infection to aid diagnosis. Serology testing, which identifies antibodies produced by the immune system in response to the virus, can help diagnose the virus in later stages of infection.

Last fall, Quest Diagnostics was awarded several contracts by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support testing and sustained laboratory readiness for emerging infectious diseases, including the development of diagnostics to aid Oropouche virus detection. The company also launched the first commercially available diagnostic test for Avian Influenza A H5 based on the funding. The contracts provide funding to enable the company to maintain testing readiness, such as for adequate supplies of certain equipment and chemical reagents used to perform the tests, on a sustained basis, should the U.S. need to quickly mobilize response to safeguard public health.

Quest Diagnostics provides diagnostic insights from lab test results to improve health outcomes. Derived from one of the world’s largest databases of de-identifiable clinical lab results, Quest’s diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors, and improve healthcare management. Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and it employs nearly 55,000 workers.