The new test will allow the CDC to test up to 180 specimens per day, compared with the 40 a day they were previously able to conduct. The CDC has approximately 1,000 remaining specimens to test.
The CDC reports that faster testing may lead to a rise of confirmed EV-D68 cases in the coming days, but it is not indicative of a growing problem; rather, they will just have more results coming in quicker.
The new test uses a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction that identifies all strains of EV-D68 seen this summer and fall. It requires fewer steps than the previous test, which was used for the previous nine years.
“CDC has received substantially more specimens for enterovirus lab testing than usual this year, due to the large outbreak of EV-D68 and related hospitalizations,” said Anne Schuchat, MD, assistant surgeon general and director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “When rare or uncommon viruses suddenly begin causing severe illness, CDC works quickly to develop diagnostic tests to enhance our response and investigations. This new lab test will reduce what would normally take several weeks to get results to a few days.”
So far, 40 states have confirmed cases of EV-D68.
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