Palm Springs releases initial results of monkeypox testing in city’s wastewater
Palm Springs and GT Molecular have started to test for monkeypox in the city's wastewater, officials announced on Tuesday.
The first two results of the testing were released on Tuesday.
"Recent testing has confirmed the detection of monkeypox virus in Palm Springs wastewater. Because the data is just a snapshot in time, it is recommended to use the information to spot trends, rather than the specific number. For example, is the trend showing consecutive weeks of increases or decreases," reads the caption on the city of Palm Springs website
The testing works similarly to how GT Molecular tests and monitors the city's wastewater for coronavirus over the past two years.
The goal of the partnership is to help track the prevalence of MPX (Monkeypox) in Palm Springs wastewater as a way to help mitigate the threat of the virus.
Officials said regular testing of wastewater helps public health officials understand trends in community-wide levels of viruses such as COVID-19 and MPX (Monkeypox) and make well-informed public health decisions.
“As MPX (Monkeypox) continues to spread, rapid detection in wastewater samples is necessary to quickly enact policies that aim to slow the spread of the virus and protect the community from future obstacles,” said City of Palm Springs Principal Engineer Donn Uyeno, who oversees the City’s partnership with GT Molecular.
“We expect this service will continue to be of great help to our public health officials,” said Uyeno.
You'll be able to find the results of the latest findings on the city's MPX (Monkeypox) landing page located at www.palmspringsca.gov/mpxinfo.
On Monday, the Valley Sanitary District in Indio has begun collecting samples to test for the presence of monkeypox. News Channel 3's Jake Ingrassia took an inside look at the process.
