UPDATE 10/23/12 @ 5:45 p.m.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A state health agency no longer has a shortage of blood test kits for hepatitis C.

County health departments rely on the Department of Health and Human Resources to test blood samples for hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The DHHR's Office of Laboratory Service told county health officials on Oct. 17 it had used up its hepatitis C testing supplies and would halt testing for about two weeks. The office cited problems with a bid process. The state's contract with a California company that supplied the kits expired earlier this year.

Department of Health and Human Resources spokeswoman Marsha Dadisman tells the Associated Press that the state conducted an emergency purchase of testing kits on Oct. 19 but didn't immediately tell county health departments.

County health departments rely on the Department of Health and Human Resources to test blood samples for hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The Associated Press reports that the DHHR's Office of Laboratory Services recently notified the counties that it is temporarily halting hepatitis C tests because it doesn't have any test kits. The office cited problems with a bid process.

The state's contract with a California company that supplied the kits expired earlier this year. The Office of Laboratory Services told county health departments that two bids for a new contract didn't meet the specifications.

The office expects to obtain more kits by Nov. 1.