The first commercially available Zika virus test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 29 for emergency use, according to Quest Diagnostics, who developed the test.
Meanwhile, the Zika virus doesn’t seem to be diminishing.
“At this stage, based on the evidence available, WHO does not see an overall decline in the outbreak,” states the April 28 World Health Organization situation report.
The new test will become available starting next week in the United States, where 426 cases of Zika have been recorded as of April 27 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The test will also be available in Puerto Rico—where the first U.S.-related Zika death was reported on Friday. The CDC reported 596 Zika cases in United States territories, outside of the 50 states, mostly in Puerto Rico.
The commercially available test means Zika tests do not have to be conducted exclusively by the CDC or a CDC-designated laboratory.
