Palm Springs Monitors Wastewater for Monkeypox

GT Molecular and City of Palm Springs expand collaboration to monitor Monkeypox in wastewater

PALM SPRINGS — About two weeks after Dr. Geoffrey Leung, Public Health Officer of Riverside County, declared that a local health emergency exists from the introduction and spread of Monkeypox, GT Molecular and the city of Palm Springs have expanded their partnership to help track the prevalence of Monkeypox in Palm Springs wastewater to help mitigate the threat of the virus.

It follows the actions last week when the Valley Sanitary District announced it would begin testing wastewater in the Coachella Valley for the monkeypox virus as part of a public health surveillance program.

Beginning today, the latest results are located on the City’s MPX (Monkeypox) landing page located by clicking here. Results will be posted online every Monday.

Over the past two years, the city has successfully partnered with Colorado-based GT Molecular to test and monitor COVID-19 wastewater levels in the community.

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.