False Positives Common with Some Zika Tests, FDA Warns

Urgent care clinicians have been told to test, or refer for testing, pregnant patients who could have been exposed to Zika virus (or had sexual relations with a partner would could have been exposed). Now the Food and Drug Administration says some such patients could have tested positive for Zika even though they don’t actually have not been infected. LabCorp’s ZIKV Detect test, specifically, should not be relied on to make “significant patient management decisions,” according to the FDA, due to a higher-than-expected rate of false positive results. Clinicians are advised to continue to recommend tests for the patients described above, but should also order confirmatory testing for any positive results from a ZIKV Detect test.