Forbes : reported that Zika Testing Mistakes Require Re-Testing Of Over 400 Specimens

Many overburdened public health laboratories are short on staff and resources, making it more difficult to prevent and catch errors. Well, as the Washington, D.C., NBC affiliate reports, that's now happened to at least two women. A false negative test would give you false confidence that you are in the clear and may not need to take precautions. After Dr. Anthony Tran became director of the Washington, D.C., Public Health Laboratory in the latter half of 2016, he found an error in the laboratory's Zika testing procedure. Since January 2016, many doctor's offices, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare organizations in the Washington, D.C., area have been sending specimens to the Public Health Laboratory for testing.

In D.C., Zika Testing of Pregnant Women Was Mishandled for Months

At least nine pregnant women in the nation's capital were caught in the faulty testing between July and December of last year, D.C. officials said Thursday. "A relatively inexperienced staff and a lack of leadership — that's a bad combination," said Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious diseases for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, which works to safeguard the integrity of public health labs nationwide. When Anthony Tran took over the District's public health lab late last year, he had a feeling something was wrong with its testing for the Zika virus. For a public health lab to commit such an error once would be an embarrassment in the high-stakes testing of Zika, which has potentially devastating consequences for pregnant women, scientists and federal health officials say. In the District, the mishap has shaken public confidence in Zika testing and, attorneys say, could result in millions of dollars in legal claims.

Two DC Women Found to Be Negative for Zika Due to Flawed Testing

HealthDay News — Two women in Washington, DC, were incorrectly found to be negative for Zika virus last year due to flawed testing, health officials said Thursday. Two DC Women Found to Be Negative for Zika Due to Flawed TestingShare this content:linkedingoogleEmailPrintOne of the problems with the test was a mathematical error. DC health officials said all 409 specimens that tested negative between July and December will be retested by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labs. Continue Reading BelowOf the 409 specimens, 294 were from pregnant women and 115 were from non-pregnant women or men. Of the 62 specimens retested so far, 2 came back positive for Zika.



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