5.2.5. What supplies do we need for laboratory-based rabies diagnosis using the fluorescence antibody test?

Click here for a PDF version of this section.

 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-conjugated anti-rabies antibodies
• PBS isotonic solution at pH 7.4 to 7.6 (0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, with 0.138 M NaCl and 0.0027 M KCl
• Mountant (immersion oil)

Click here for more detailed information on equipment, reagents and protocols for diagnosis of rabies in animals by fluorescent antibody testing, and see Sections 4.3 to 4.5 of the Rabies Surveillance Blueprint for standard diagnostic test information.

Photo courtesy of Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project