Resources with keywords: specimen handling
Autochthonous clade Ib transmission confirmed in EU/EEA. Outside Africa, 97% of cases are male, 89% MSM — pattern relevant to clinical triage and ED screening protocols. Laboratory personnel should note that standard dermatopathology laboratory procedures (formalin fixation) adequately inactivate orthopoxviruses; however, unfixed specimens require BSL-2 handling. ECDC recommends JYNNEOS post-exposure prophylaxis for HCWs with unprotected exposure within 4 days.
HCWs caring for mpox patients without adequate PPE (gown, gloves, eye protection, N95 for aerosol-generating procedures) face direct contact transmission risk. All clades (Ia, Ib, IIb) circulating globally. Clade Ib recombinant with Ia/IIb genomic elements detected in February 2026; biological behavior not yet fully characterized. Diagnostic laboratory personnel handling skin lesion specimens must use BSL-2 enhanced precautions. JYNNEOS vaccine recommended for HCWs at occupational risk.
Two suspected cases in Italy (travelers from Uganda to Lombardy) ruled out by laboratory testing on 25 May. ECDC assesses EU/EEA HCW and laboratory worker infection risk as very low but not zero. Imported case scenario underscores need for clinical laboratories to maintain front-line screening protocols and for hospital EDs to implement triage-based isolation.
CDC HAN advisory directed at U.S. clinicians, laboratorians, and public health practitioners. CDC issued Level 3 Travel Health Notice for DRC; Level 1 for Uganda. Clinical laboratories instructed to use standard contact and droplet precautions during specimen collection, and to notify public health before processing specimens from febrile patients with relevant travel history. No U.S. cases as of 25 May 2026. One American HCW medically evacuated from DRC to Germany for isolation.
Includes recommendations for vaccination of health care workers, specimen collection and infection control.
This guidance applies to Filoviruses, Arenaviruses, Rift Valley fever virus, Crimean Congo HFV. This guidance also applies to other high-consequence diseases that require a specialized laboratory, are highly pathogenic, and have no vaccine or treatment currently available, like Nipah virus disease.
The CDC is reporting a recently confirmed outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Uganda caused by Sudan virus (species Sudan ebolavirus) to summarize CDC’s recommendations for U.S. public health departments and clinicians, case identification and testing, and clinical laboratory biosafety considerations.
This webpage provides guidance for staff at hospitals and clinical laboratories on collecting, transporting, and submitting specimens to laboratories to test for viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) or other high-consequence diseases.
Routine laboratory testing to monitor the patient’s clinical status and diagnostic testing for other potential causes of the patient’s illness should be pursued while testing for a VHF or other high-consequence disease is underway.
