Rabies Laboratory

Rabies Testing | Specimen Shipping & Packing | Diagnosis in Animals | Rabies in Texas | Reports & Links

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Important Notice

Due to biohazard safety guidelines, the laboratory is unable to return carcasses submitted for rabies testing to owners or submitters.

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All finalized rabies test reports (positive, non-negative, or negative) are now available through the Laboratory Services Section (LSS) via fax or through the LSS Results-Web Portal.

The LSS will contact you via telephone to report all positive and non-negative test results.

To obtain access to remote data systems results please click on the link: /lab/remotedata.shtm

To obtain reports by fax, use the Submitter ID # Request Form found on the laboratory forms page and follow the instructions to update your preference for test report delivery.

If you have questions regarding reporting, contact Tiffunee Odoms at 512-776-6275. For all Rabies concerns including Rabies shipping, testing requirements, and result interpretation, please contact the Rabies Identification Team at 512-776-7595.

About Us

The rabies laboratory at the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) Laboratory Services Section in Austin is the primary rabies diagnostic laboratory in the State of Texas; it serves as a rabies reference laboratory for other laboratories in Texas, as well as for adjacent states in the US and Mexico. Information is exchanged/shared via email with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts in the field. The laboratory coordinates closely with the Zoonosis Control Branch, and all non-negative results are transmitted to the Public Health Regions, via phone or email, after the results are completed.

The laboratory receives between 8,000 and 10,000 animal specimens annually for rabies testing. Routine testing is done by direct fluorescent antibody staining. In addition to diagnostic testing, the laboratory types all positive specimens by either monoclonal antibody staining, restriction digest typing, or nucleotide sequencing to determine the variant of rabies virus present in the animal. Typing information is used to follow the spread of rabies through animals and across the state. This information has proven to be extremely useful in defining the vaccine drop zone for the Oral Rabies Vaccination Program (ORVP) of wild animals to combat rabies epizootics in coyotes in south Texas and foxes in west Texas.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much time is required to do rabies testing?

How do I submit a specimen for rabies testing?

Will the laboratory test rodents?

What does an "unsatisfactory" report for rabies mean?

What does an "inconclusive" report for rabies mean?

The specimen was frozen by mistake. Can it still be tested?

The specimen may still be submitted for testing; however, freezing and thawing of brain material causes two problems for rabies testing. (1) The thawed brain will be very soft and mushy making it difficult to identify the various parts of the brain. If the parts can be identified a specimen will be tested as normal. If the parts cannot be adequately identified, the material will be tested and reported "positive" if the material appears positive but will be reported "unsatisfactory" if the material does not appear positive. (2) Repeated freeze-thaw cycles may reduce test sensitivity and should be avoided. Freezing and thawing the brain may inactivate the virus. This is not a problem for the direct fluorescent antibody test-- this test is not dependent on the viable virus but only on the presence of viral antigen, however, it may compromise additional testing, such as culture for confirmation of specimens that are difficult to interpret by the direct fluorescent antibody test.

How much it will cost to test the rabies specimen?

The specimen looks decomposed/destroyed, smelly, green, etc. What should I do?

You should still submit the specimen to the Laboratory for testing. It is sometimes difficult to predict the condition of the brain by viewing the condition of the exterior of the head. The personnel in the Laboratory will necropsy the specimen and decide as to the suitability for testing, based on the brain material itself. If there is any material present at all, it will be tested. If that material is positive for rabies, the specimen will be reported "positive." If that material is not positive, and the technologist determined that the specimen was either too decomposed or destroyed for the test to be reliable, the specimen will be reported as "decomposed" or "destroyed," based on the condition of the brain material.

What do I need to do to have my serum, or that of my animal, tested to determine the response to a rabies vaccine?

How do I contact someone in the Rabies Laboratory?

What if I still have questions related to rabies?

Reports

Human rabies cases in the US 1950 - Present
(PDF file, 21k, viewing information)

Human cases attributed to bat rabies variants in the US
(From the DSHS Zoonosis Control Group)

Rabies Trends in Texas - Incidence 1953 to 2008

View Images:

Rabies in Texas

Rabies in Texas - 1953 to 2008

Year	Skunk	Fox	Bat	Raccoon	Dog	Cat	Coyote	Other	Totals
53	45	152	0	0	999	68	0	70	1334
54	71	100	0	0	838	55	0	57	1121
55	59	79	0	0	458	20	0	35	651
56	72	138	0	0	430	30	0	59	729
57	27	133	4	0	286	30	0	54	534
58	45	106	40	3	243	21	0	33	491
59	145	175	23	1	138	37	0	48	567
60	164	128	19	1	153	41	0	55	561
61	342	30	45	1	134	42	1	63	658
62	258	39	31	3	93	27	1	78	530
63	235	66	22	7	106	28	2	58	524
64	159	28	19	4	69	31	0	38	348
65	162	25	25	5	88	25	0	60	390
66	176	27	34	3	94	41	2	59	436
67	152	27	44	6	86	32	3	35	385
68	111	25	13	6	54	14	0	35	258
69	104	35	42	6	67	30	0	36	320
70	109	20	23	2	18	14	1	35	222
71	186	26	35	1	17	20	0	32	317
72	188	21	56	3	14	13	1	38	334
73	139	31	21	4	7	17	2	43	264
74	132	35	63	10	89	9	0	45	383
75	177	13	67	1	24	20	0	23	325
76	201	8	59	5	28	12	1	15	329
77	254	4	46	0	45	13	0	20	382
78	447	6	46	3	9	17	1	27	556
79	857	28	118	8	82	48	2	52	1195
80	643	46	95	8	46	34	4	69	945
81	515	25	79	5	12	22	0	40	698
82	536	13	123	4	21	42	2	55	796
83	522	16	89	2	13	27	0	55	724
84	526	6	118	2	9	19	0	39	719
85	404	4	100	3	27	22	0	29	589
86	275	11	132	1	14	13	2	22	470
87	278	15	66	3	29	19	0	22	432
88	266	20	57	4	21	30	6	30	434
89	231	12	72	6	43	12	7	23	406
90	117	24	50	2	40	13	3	19	268
91	209	37	59	13	36	17	46	30	447
92	182	33	69	7	56	16	70	38	471
93	151	42	150	20	54	21	71	24	533
94	78	144	94	68	53	27	77	49	590
95	69	137	123	41	55	25	80	60	590
96	78	60	120	25	15	10	19	24	351
97	94	13	121	5	11	2	7	13	266
98	116	21	104	5	15	8	6	28	303
99	192	56	90	4	13	21	2	22	400
00	550	41	164	9	19	17	2	28	830
01	778	15	194	9	16	13	0	18	1043
02	740	48	167	12	15	24	1	42	1049
03	625	28	166	11	19	22	3	34	908
04	534	16	269	12	19	22	0	38	910
05	392	23	257	27	8	12	0	22	741
06	351	31	432	19	13	10	1	32	889
07	362	32	482	17	12	14	21	29	969
08	391	14	548	16	15	15	6	14	1019
Totals	15222	2488	5485	443	5388	1304	453	2151	32934

Links

Note: External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Texas Department of State Health Services. These sites may also not be accessible to people with disabilities.

For rabies results in Texas by county (from DSHS Zoonosis Control Group)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rabies Site

World Health Organization Rabnet

Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine - Rabies Lab

All the Virology on the WWW

Pasteur Institute

Rabies Vaccine