(KRON) — One Bay Area company says its blood testing tech can help limit the spread of monkeypox. With a single blood draw, test results for monkeypox can take 24 hours.
Alec Ford is CEO of Karius, which is a blood diagnostic company located in Redwood City. The process is faster than the traditional way to test for monkeypox.
“You actually have to wait until someone has skin lesions, you bring them into a clinic, you have to get fluid from the lesion, and then you have to test that fluid on a machine,” Ford said.
Ford adds blood testing is safer for healthcare workers.
“Draining a blister fluid from an active infection can pose a significant health risk, and so we have an opportunity by just taking a sample of blood we may not present that same kind of risk,” Ford said.
As of Thursday, the CDC reports more than 10,000 Americans have tested positive for monkeypox.
San Francisco has more than 500 confirmed cases. Alameda County has reported 112 cases. The disease mostly spreads through skin-to-skin contact.
Health experts say demand for the monkeypox vaccine is far exceeding supply. That’s why Ford says blood testing can help limit the spread.
“We’re testing people when they’re pretty late in the disease,” Ford said. “So if we want to stop this before it is transmitted to others if we want to reduce the risk for healthcare workers, we are going to need to act more rapidly.”
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The Karius blood test can test for over 1,600 kinds of infections. The test is available at Bay Area hospitals including Kaiser. The hope is to expand to the public sector.