Rabies Testing
All packages transported via courier (DHL, FedEx, LoneStar Overnight, or UPS, for example) will be accepted during regular business hours Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Specimens may also be hand-delivered to Specimen Acquisition (at the Laboratory Specimen Receiving Dock) during regular business hours. The Specimen Receiving Dock is on the north side of the Laboratory building and is accessible from Grover Street, as shown in the DSHS Central Complex campus map. Submitters are required to notify the Laboratory of the shipment of rabies specimens. The toll-free number for notification is 1-800-252-8163. This number is available 24-hours a day. Submitters may call at any time to leave their shipping information in a message. Please note that a completed G-9 Rabies Submission Form is still required to accompany each specimen. Advance notification is critical for the Laboratory to monitor the arrival of specimens and to be able to notify the submitter if a specimen does not arrive as expected. The toll-free number also has instructions on shipping a specimen and how to reach someone after hours in the event of an emergency.
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Specimen Delivery to the Laboratory Rabies specimen processing is a top priority. The laboratory tests 8,000 to 10,000 animal specimens per year for rabies; our procedures are designed to facilitate as rapid a reporting of results as is reasonably possible given the volume of specimens being tested daily. Specimens transported by individuals and delivered directly to the laboratory may be delivered to Specimen Acquisition at the Laboratory Specimen Receiving Dock during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Thirty-minute parking is available adjacent to this location. Please refer to the DSHS campus map for on-site directions. Specimens shipped by the various overnight services (DHL, FedEx, LoneStar Overnight, UPS, etc.) are accepted by the Laboratory in the same manner as specimens delivered by individuals. Please note however that such courier services will frequently not deliver packages to the Laboratory on weekends and holidays, even if they offer weekend delivery options; instead, they will hold packages for delivery the next business day. The Laboratory does not routinely receive deliveries outside of business hours (Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.), so it is recommended that specimens be chilled at 32°F to 45°F (0°C to 7°C) over the weekend or holiday and shipped on the next regular workday with the exception of Fridays, which would result in a Saturday delivery. If a submitter needs to get a specimen to the Laboratory for emergency testing on a Saturday, the submitter must first receive prior approval from the Laboratory. Note: Certain couriers offer an option for submitters to pay an additional charge for an early morning specimen delivery that meets the laboratory’s 8:00 a.m. deadline. If the courier misses this deadline, submitters are encouraged to contact the courier to report the failure to deliver and dispute the delivery charges. Should the specimen and testing be of particular concern, the only reliable way to get a Saturday submission to the Rabies Laboratory by 8:00 a.m. is to hand deliver it. Specimen Submission Guidelines
Shipping and Handling Specimens Directions for preparing and shipping specimens Specimens may be delivered by a courier/shipping service or directly by hand to the Laboratory’s Specimen Acquisition at the Laboratory Specimen Receiving Dock during regular business hours, Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. The Specimen Receiving Dock is on the north side of the Laboratory building and is accessible from Grover Street, as shown in the DSHS Central Complex campus map. If you are going to ship a specimen to the laboratory, you must first notify the DSHS Rabies Laboratory by calling the Rabies Hotline: 1-800-252-8163. Advance notification of a rabies submission is required by Texas state law! The Rabies Hotline is available 24-hours a day and allows shipping information to be left in a message. The toll-free number also has instructions on shipping a specimen and how to reach someone after hours in the event of an emergency. Note: A completed G-9 Rabies Submission Form is still required to accompany each specimen. Advance notification is critical for the Laboratory to monitor the arrival of specimens and to be able to notify the submitter if a specimen does not arrive as expected. Click on the following link for a tutorial on submitting rabies specimens to the laboratory: Submitting Rabies Specimens to the Laboratory (383k). Turnaround Time and Reporting of Rabies Results Routine Testing and Result Reporting of Rabies Specimens (Monday–Friday)
Weekend and Holiday Testing and Result Reporting of Rabies Specimens
Emergency Testing of Rabies Specimens
Please Note: Certain couriers offer an option for submitters to pay an additional charge for an early morning specimen delivery that meets the Rabies Laboratory’s 8:00 a.m. deadline. If the courier misses this deadline, submitters are encouraged to contact the courier to report the failure to deliver and dispute the delivery charges. Should the specimen and testing be of particular concern, the only reliable way to get a Saturday submission to the lab by 8:00 a.m. is to hand deliver it.
Please Note: Approximately two percent of specimens appear suspicious on primary testing and cannot be conclusively reported as rabies positive or negative. These specimens must be tested again. Additional testing will delay the reporting of results for these “suspicious” specimens. Should you have questions about the availability of test results for a specimen that is being retested, please call the Rabies Laboratory at (512) 776-7595. When calling the Rabies Laboratory to check on test results, a specimen status, or to arrange special handling, please have as much of the following information available as possible:
This information will help us identify the animal/specimen and respond to questions more quickly.
Three areas of the brain are tested for the presence of rabies virus: brain stem, cerebellum, and hippocampus. To be confident that an adequate amount of tissue is available for testing, the laboratory must receive a complete cross section of the brain stem and either the cerebellum or hippocampus. If the required brain parts are not received, the lab staff will test what was received. If that part is positive, the specimen is reported as positive. However, if the part received is not positive, the specimen is reported as unsatisfactory. This type of report is necessary because testing fewer areas of the brain could lead to a false negative, such as not detecting a weakly rabies-positive animal. Inconclusive An inconclusive report indicates that when the animal was tested for rabies, some material in the brain of the animal looked suspicious but could not be definitively identified as rabies virus. Prior to issuing an inconclusive report, the specimen is retested multiple times. If you receive an inconclusive report for rabies, decisions about whether or not rabies prophylaxis is needed should be based on the exposure history of the patient to the animal in question and should consult the RABIES POSTEXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PEP) FOR HUMANS guidelines found at the DSHS webpage Rabies Treatment in People. For serologic testing of antibody status (both human and animal samples), refer to To handle clinical material from patients who are ill and for which rabies is suspected, please call (512) 776-7111 and request to speak with a regional Zoonosis Control staff member. |
Specimen Receiving
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