Equipment
- Laboratory furniture (work bench, cubicles, chairs, shelf)
- Necropsy instruments (scalpel, bone saw, scissors, knife, tweezers)
- Steriliser/autoclave
- Specimen storage containers
- Post-stain rinse containers
- Refrigerator
- Freezer (-20°C)
- Pipette and tips
- Fluorescent microscope
- Non-fluorescing microscopic slides
- Incubator (37°C) – may not be necessary in tropical countries
- Book/submission forms for reporting the diagnosis, following national or regional guidelines.
Personal protective wear: lab coats, gum boots, rubber gloves, disposable gloves, masks
Chemicals
- Acetone
- Distilled water or highly purified water
- Positive and negative brain samples for controls
- FITC [1]-conjugated anti-rabies antibodies
- (PBS) phosphate buffered isotonic saline solution at pH 7.4 to 7.6 (0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, with 0.138 M NaCl [2] and 0.0027 M KCl [3])
- Mountant (immersion oil)
Click here for more detailed information on equipment, reagents and protocols for diagnosis of rabies in animals by fluorescent antibody testing.
- Photo courtesy of Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project
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