“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paused diagnostic testing for rabies in 2026.”

Several tests are necessary to diagnose rabies antemortem (before death) in humans; no single test is sufficient. Tests are performed on samples of saliva, serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and nuchal skin biopsies. A rabies diagnosis can be made after detecting rabies virus from any part of the affected brain. To rule out rabies, the test must include a full cross-section of tissue from both the brain stem and cerebellum.

The agency has temporarily paused testing for a host of infectious diseases, including poxviruses, various parasites, and lymphocytic choriomeningitis... Work with raccoons and need a rabies test? Don't send samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for at least the next couple of weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put a hold on lab testing for rabies and pox viruses, including mpox, because they're short-staffed and can't support state and local health departments as they used to. They mentioned that this pause affects tests usually done for public labs that don't have the specialized equipment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week posted a list of more than two dozen types of testing that have become unavailable, including diagnostic testing for rabies. A government spokesman called the pause temporary and attributed it to 'a routine review to uphold our commitment to high quality laboratory testing.' The pausing comes in the wake of dramatic downsizing, with rabies labs losing about half their staff.

The US federal agency responsible for monitoring diseases has temporarily halted certain diagnostic testing, including those for rabies, human herpesvirus and several other infectious illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a list on Monday showing that more than two dozen types of testing are now unavailable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly suspended testing for rabies and pox viruses, according to an update to the agency's website last month. Human testing for rabies and the virus family that includes smallpox and mpox are now listed as “temporarily paused.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pulling back on some of its testing, which the agency shared in an announcement on its website. The CDC says that it will be discontinuing and pausing a number of the testing services the agency offers beginning Mar. 30, 2026, with new tests being added periodically. As of April 3, 2026, the CDC has added a number of different tests to its list, which amounts to around 31 tests that the agency says will be "offline" moving forward. This includes Rabies Antemortem Human Testing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially suspended diagnostic testing for 31 different infectious diseases, including rabies, mpox, and various parasitic infections. The transition began on March 30, 2026. While characterized as a 'temporary pause' for quality review, it follows significant workforce reductions.

The CDC removed rabies and poxvirus assays from its public test directory on March 30, 2026, citing updates and staffing limits, prompting immediate concern from public health experts. Rabies, while rare in the United States, is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear. Rapid and accurate laboratory confirmation is essential for the post-exposure treatment decisions made by physicians and public health officials every year.

The CDC provides confirmatory rabies diagnostic testing primarily for state public health labs lacking specialized capabilities, but this service has historically included periodic pauses for quality assessments, as noted in prior years; no evidence of a permanent halt exists, and state labs routinely handle initial testing.