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Specimen Submission Guidelines

If you are concerned that an animal in your area may have rabies, contact your local veterinary authority immediately.
The specimens from the animals suspected of having rabies (target animals for rabies surveillance) can be submitted to the RDU for diagnosis and confirmation of the disease.
The following information may be useful in selecting the target animals for rabies surveillance.

1.  Animals exhibiting signs consistent with rabies, found dead, as road kills or euthanised
2.  Signs consistent with rabies include
•   -loss of apparent wariness of humans and domestic animals
•   -unprovoked agitation and extreme aggression toward animate or inanimate objects
•   -head tilt, head pressing or butting and "star gazing" (abnormal positioning of the head pointing towards the sky)
•   -signs of self-mutilation (self-biting)
•   -no apparent response to pain
•   -paralysis of limbs and facial muscles
•   -change in normal behaviour patterns (i.e., nocturnal animals become active during daylight hours)

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Specimens for rabies diagnosis

The following specimens from target animals can be submitted to the RDU for diagnosis of rabies.

•   • Entire carcass (should be well packed and kept cold (on ice) during dispatch)
•   • Head (should be well packed and kept cold (on ice) during dispatch)
•   • Brain or Brain stem (should be frozen or preserved in 50% glycerol saline) *
•   • Spinal cord (should be frozen or preserved in 50% glycerol saline) *

* Opening the skull is hazardous when practiced outside a laboratory

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Important points to remember in the collection, preservation and dispatch of specimens

•   • Sample must be fresh
•   • Sample must be labelled for easy identification
•   • Sample must be sent in a well packed water-tight container
•   • Fresh frozen (unfixed) tissues or tissues packed on ice are preferred for rabies diagnosis
•   • While fresh frozen (unfixed) tissues are preferred for rabies testing, a diagnosis may be made using formalin-fixed tissues, which are dispatched at room (ambient) temperature; however, processing of these samples requires additional time, which may delay results up to a week or more. Samples dispatched at room temperature include:
•     – Formalin-fixed wet tissues
•     – Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks
•     – Glass slides with sections from paraffin-embedded blocks
•   •It is the responsibility of the submitter to perform the specimen collection, provide appropriate containers, package safely for sample submission and complete appropriate forms.
•   •Provide the full name, title, complete mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers of the submitter (use the specimen submission form Sinhala English). The final laboratory report will be shared with the submitter indicated on this form.
•   •Include in your specimen any supportive documentation that is available (optional):
•     – A cover letter outlining a brief clinical history with relevant demographic/epidemiologic information. This can help expedite testing if necessary.
•     – A copy of the necropsy report (preliminary or final) or surgical pathology report
•     – Copies of pertinent laboratory results (microbiology, haematology, serology, culture, and/or biochemical).
•     – Images
•   •Contact the RDU before sending any specimens

All specimens should be addressed to:

    Rabies Diagnostic Unit (RDU)
    Division of Veterinary Pathology
    Department of Veterinary Pathobiology
    Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
    University of Peradeniya