Important Note

A throat swab or urine specimen as well as a blood specimen should be collected from all patients with clinical features compatible with measles.

Required: Throat swab for PCR. Sent to Mayo Clinic Labs with turnaround time of 2-3 days. Order Miscellaneous Test (Lab4300) in Epic and specify test code MEASR.

Preferred: In addition to the throat swab, blood should also be collected and sent for Rubeola IgM testing, which is sent to Mayo Clinic Labs with a turnaround time of 2-3 days. Order Miscellaneous Test (Lab4300) in Epic and specify test code ROM. 

Collection of a urine specimen for PCR can also be helpful in detecting cases of Measles. For urine PCR testing, order Miscellaneous Test (Lab4300) in Epic and specify test code MEASU.

If vaccine status is unknown or to confirm immunity, MEASLES, IgG - Kootenai Health can be ordered as Lab4239 in Epic. This is run at Kootenai Health Lab daily Mon-Fri. 

See respective test catalog pages for each test for further details on specimen collection, stability, and test performance.