DPIRD Diagnostic Laboratory Services (DDLS) base sample set
Sample type | Sample to take | Storage/transport |
---|---|---|
Antemortem samples | Lithium heparin 10mL EDTA 10mL Clotted 10mL Faeces 10g | Blood samples: Mix with anticoagulant and chill; do not freeze. Draw off serum if prolonged transport. |
Fresh tissue (individual containers) | Brain (swab/small section) Liver Lung Kidney Rumen contents (100-200g) Ileal content 10mL Vitreous humour 1mL Faeces/rectal content 10g | Fresh samples: Chill/refrigerate; do not freeze. |
Fixed samples (pooled in formalin - 10:1 formalin:tissue) | Brain Kidney Liver Lung Rumen Abomasum Small intestine Large intestine Skeletal muscle Heart | Fixed tissues: Can be kept at room temperature |
Specific disease samples
Disease | Samples |
---|---|
Acidosis/rumenitis | Test rumen pH on site, fixed forestomach |
Annual ryegrass toxicity (ARGT) | Rumen content for quantitative test (exposure) Pasture/hay for qualitative test (risk analysis) |
Anthrax | Smears of bloody exudate, blood-contaminated soil. Do not necropsy |
Blue-green algae | Water and bloom (downwind side of water body) |
Clostridial myositis | Fresh and fixed muscle lesion, muscle smears |
Enterotoxaemia | Fresh ileal content (10mL) |
Johne’s disease | Fresh and fixed jejunum, terminal ileum, ileocaecal valve, caecum and ileocaecal lymph node plus faeces/rectal content |
Metabolic disease | Pre-treatment lithium heparin blood or vitreous humour |
Nitrate toxicosis | Vitreous humour, plant |
Phalaris toxicosis | Vitreous humour |
Polioencephalomalacia | EDTA blood (thiamine) |
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs – BSE, scrapie) | Fixed brain, 2cm fresh spinal cord (plus section of fresh dorsal cerebellum in sheep) |
Urea/ammonia toxicosis | Vitreous humour |
Additional samples by syndrome
Please add these samples in investigation of the specific syndromes listed below.
Syndrome | Additional samples |
---|---|
Abortion/ stillbirths | Placenta, foetus - lung, liver, kidney, adrenal, stomach content, skin/eyelid; dam - uterus or uterine swabs |
Acute febrile disease | Alimentary sections and local lymph nodes (fixed and fresh), feed (ergot) |
Anaemia | EDTA blood, air-dried blood smears, fixed spleen, bone marrow |
Congenital defects | Consider whole neonate or grossly affected tissue |
Diarrhoea | Alimentary sections and local lymph nodes (fixed and fresh) |
Found dead | As for neurological; possible water sample (blue-green algae), plants, vitreous humour |
Genital lesions | Fixed/fresh biopsy material, viral media, swabs in transport media |
Ill-thrift/ weightloss | Alimentary sections and local lymph nodes (fixed and fresh) |
Female infertility | Campylobacter swabs, Tritrichomonas swabs, uterine swab/biopsy, fixed reproductive tract |
Male infertility | Semen, swabs, fixed and fresh testicle/reproductive tract |
Jaundice | Fixed spleen and liver, plants (sporedesmin, other hepatotoxins) |
Lameness | Arthritis - swabs or fresh joint fluid/synovium, fixed joint capsule/synovium, fixed muscle, fixed bone/joint for deformity/joint lesions Hoof lesions - interdigital and hoof scrapings in Stuart media |
Lymphadenopathy | Fixed and fresh lymph node, swabs |
Mastitis | 20mL milk in sterile jar, chilled |
Muscle lesions | Fixed muscle and heart, fixed nerve and spinal cord |
Myiasis (flystrike) | Maggots chilled, in alcohol or formalin. Photo in situ |
Neurological signs | Fixed and fresh spinal cord segments, EDTA (thiamine), vitreous humour, fat (samples for TSE exclusion) |
Pruritis | Skin, ectoparasites (sheep TSE samples for scrapie exclusion) |
Production drop | Alimentary sections and local lymph nodes (fixed and fresh), feed Cows - udder (fixed/fresh), milk Avian - blood and cloacal swabs in viral transport media - VTM (consider whole bird) |
Respiratory signs | Bronchial lymph node, trachea/larynx, feed (ergotism) |
Salivation | Oral mucosa/vesicles/erosion (fixed) vesicle fluid (fresh in VTM), feed |
Skin lesions | Skin/mucous membrane (fixed) swabs if mass, vesicle fluid in VTM, feed/plants (ergot etc.) |
Sudden death | Plants/feed, water, vitreous humour |
Weakness / paresis | Fixed and fresh spinal cord segments, fat, vitreous humour |
More information
For more information or advice on conducting livestock postmortems or sampling required for disease exclusions, contact:
- DPIRD Diagnostic Laboratory Services - animal pathology unit or
- your local DPIRD field veterinary officer
- After hours: If you suspect an exotic/emergency/zoonotic disease, call the emergency animal disease hotline: 1800 675 888