The Virology Section will accept animals for rabies testing from county health departments, county rabies animal control groups, state public health agencies, and veterinarians. Individuals wishing to have animals tested for rabies should contact their local rabies animal control group or their veterinarian. 

The test used for rabies is called the Fluorescent Rabies Antibody test (FRA) and it cannot be performed on living animals. Turn-around time is 24 hours for routine testing. Emergency testing will give preliminary results within three hours of the receipt of the animal but confirmation of preliminary test results requires 24 hours. Animals received on Friday will not have testing completed until the following Monday (or Tuesday, in the event of a Monday holiday). Emergency testing will be performed only in situations where the potential for rabies in the suspect animal is high. 

NEW POLICY FOR RABIES TESTING - Effective June 1, 2009

Effective June 1, 2009, ASHL will require that dog, cat, and livestock specimens meet the following expanded criteria before accepting and testing specimens.

1. Dogs and cats will not be accepted for rabies testing unless the following criteria are met:

a.  A dog or cat has clear neurologic signs consistent with rabies, as determined by a veterinarian. The veterinarian should try to rule out distemper in dogs by observation for clinical signs consistent with distemper, but not consistent with rabies.

b.  A quarantine of 10 days of a dog or cat (14 day quarantine for ferrets) could not be completed due to the following:

i.   The animal is unable to be observed due to injuries or illness severe enough to be considered inhumane to not euthanize prior to completion of quarantine, as documented & approved by the animal control supervisor

ii.   Clear signs of rabies are present, as determined by a veterinarian or animal control agency supervisor.

If the dog, cat or ferret does not meet these criteria, animal control agencies (and veterinarians if assisting animal control) have the following alternatives: complete the quarantine of the biting animal OR submit the head of the animal to another lab that performs rabies DFA testing for a fee.

Submission of a dog, cat, or ferret to ASHL under any other circumstances requires prior notification and approval from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) (602-364-4562).

2. Horses, cows, and other large livestock must be submitted to the University of Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (AzVDL) in Tucson. AzVDL provides brain extraction and shipment to ASHL for a fee.

For full details on the criteria for testing of specimens for rabies at ASHL, please read the full letter to submitters.

Specimens for Viral Isolation

The Virology section accepts clinical specimens from city, county, or state public health agencies. Specimens from private laboratories or physicians will be accepted only under the following conditions:

• Reference specimens submitted as isolates for identification or quality control purposes.
• Clinical specimens submitted for testing that is unavailable within the private sector.
• Surveillance specimens submitted for the isolation of Influenza A or Influenza B.
• Specimens submitted with the prior approval of the Virology Section or Office Manager.

Contact the Virology Laboratory if there are any questions regarding submissions.

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