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Rabies virus, direct fluorescent antibody test (DFA)

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$65 | Serology Lab

Specimen collection guides

Methodology

  • Direct fluorescent antibody test

Acceptable specimen(s)

  • For bats, submit the entire carcass.
  • For skunks, raccoons, and similarly sized animals, decapitate the animal and send only the head. The whole animal will not be accepted.

*Only people with proper training, adequate personal protective equipment, and preferably pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis, should remove heads and brains from rabies suspects. This is to prevent exposure to rabies virus during specimen preparation. 

Specimen labeling

Double-bag specimens individually and label each with the LabOnline chain of custody number. The test request number is found under the barcode on the test order form that begins with the letter “L” followed by six numbers. Do not put paperwork in the specimen bag. Do not place paperwork in the specimen bag.

Specimens should be placed in an inner waterproof container, like a cold mailer or cooler, with cold packs and then placed in an outer hard-sided shipping container. Label the top and one of the sides of the inner waterproof container and the hard-sided shipping container with a pre-printed rabies label. Include the following information on the outside of the hard-sided shipping container:

CDPHE
Rabies Lab (LXXXXXX) – this is the test request number
8100 Lowry Blvd
Denver, CO 80230

Do not use dry or wet ice. Use enough cold packs to keep specimens cold for 48 hours. Multiple specimens can be shipped together in the same outer hard-sided container, but each specimen should be double-bagged and labeled separately with its own individual LabOnline test order. An animal submitted without a LabOnline test order cannot be tested.

 

An example of how to properly label cold mailer/cooler and hard-sided shipping container with pre-printed rabies labels.

Specimen stability

  • Refrigerate specimens immediately and hold them at 35-40°F until shipped. Properly refrigerated specimens can be held for several days (i.e., over the weekend or holiday) and still result in an accurate test. Holding specimens for longer periods of time will often result in poor specimen quality.

Do not freeze or place specimens in a preservative such as formalin. If the sample was accidentally frozen, keep it frozen and contact the lab for additional guidance before submitting.

Turnaround time

  • Three (3) business days.

Rejection criteria

  • Incomplete or missing test order, incomplete specimen labeling, improper packaging such as receiving without cold packs or in the incorrect containers, frozen animal carcass, animal carcass received in a preservative such as formalin, decomposition of tissues, whole carcass of large animals received without decapitation

Ordering in LabOnline

  • Profile: Rabies Testing, Serology
  • Testing type: Rabies
  • Matrix: Brain tissue, carcass

Add exposure information in the “Special Instructions” field of the LabOnline test order.

Supplemental information

Do not use the courier service for situations in which no public health issue exists (e.g., domestic animal testing, submitting rodents or lagomorphs without approval, veterinary diagnostic rule-out when rabies is unlikely, etc.). Submitters can pay to use commercial transport services, like UPS and FedEx, to overnight deliveries to the lab. You may also drop off samples at the lab at the specimen receiving door, which is located on the south side of the building. The door is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Specimens cannot be returned to the owner or submitter. It must be disposed of as biological waste.

For consultation on situations not listed above, submission assistance, testing, bite follow-up, and rabies pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, contact your local public health agency or the CDPHE Communicable Disease Branch at 303-692-2700 during business hours or 303-370-9395 for after-hours and weekend and holiday emergencies. Emergency testing requires special arrangements.

Contact information