Listen to this article

Elected officials and health care professionals are working diligently to curb the spread of monkeypox, which was declared a public health emergency earlier this month. 

GenScript USA Inc., a subsidiary of Piscataway-based GenScript Biotech Corp., announced Aug. 18 the immediate availability of a monkeypox PCR test kit to help detect the virus. 

The firm said diagnostic labs and medical device distributors may now order the kit, which was developed in partnership with Anbio Biotechnology. 

The test kit has received the CE mark for IVD (in vitro diagnostics) use in the European Union; however, it is currently available only for research purposes in the U.S. and not for official diagnoses.  

“Providing access to commercial test kits is essential so that we can quickly detect and understand how the virus is moving through our communities,” Amanda Grimm, senior product manager of diagnostics at GenScript USA, said in a statement. “We are rushing supplies of the monkeypox PCR test kit to our lab customers and distributors because diagnostic labs across the United States are a crucial element of the nation’s response to this public-health emergency.” 

As of Aug. 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 13,517 confirmed monkeypox cases nationwide, including 367 in New Jersey. Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and a rash. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s Aug. 4 public health emergency declaration accelerated coordination across federal agencies, increased communication with states and localities, and helped the administration develop new strategies to distribute vaccines and treatments, GenScript noted. 

Late last month, Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli announced the addition of two more sites for monkeypox vaccinations. At present, there are 10 listed on the NJDOH’s website. 

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:47 p.m. ET on Jan. 31, 2023. A previous version of this article stated Anbio Biotechnology was based in China. According to that company, that statement was included in error with an August 2022 press release from GenScript USA announcing its monkeypox PCR test. According to Anbio Biotechnology, it was based in the Cayman Islands as of August 2022 with operational offices in Germany.