Guidelines for Submission of Samples
General recommendations:
 

Samples suspected of zoonotic diseases must be clearly indicated.

Highly contagious material needs prior notification (e.g. rabies) to CVRL.

Each sample demands for an individual container.

All correspondance must be in English so as to comply with international rules and regulations.

Monkeys are only tested when samples are kept in formalin. No necropsies will be performed.

No samples especially carcass are accepted when the requisition forms are not filled out properly. We have 6 requisition forms, use the right ones. Please give us a proper history about the animals involved including:

  1. How many animals are sick, how many died?
  2. Acute or chronic outbreak?
  3. Clinical signs?
  4. Vaccination, treatment?
Necropsy:
- Dead animals (as soon as possible after death)
- Moribund animals
- Complete anamnesis
- Precise labelling
- Packing/container/swabs - preferably to be collected from CVRL (free of charge)
Bacteriology/Mycology:
1.   Faecal sample Sealed faecal container
2.   Cloacal swab Avian - virus medium
3.   Faecal swab, mammals Bakteriette
4.   Crop swab Bakteriette
5.   Tracheal swab Bakteriette
6.   Eye swab Bakteriette
7.   Wound swab Bakteriette
8.   Abscess swab Bakteriette
9.   Sinus swab Bakteriette
10. Genital swab Bakteriette
11. Skin (crust) scraping Petri dish (sealed)
12. Chlamydial swab Special medium
13. Fluid (urine) Plastic tube
14. Organs Separated, cooled, Petri dish or plastic tube (sealed)
15. CEM - Amies Charcoal medium
16. Whole blood Oxoid SIGNAL blood culture system medium
Parasitology:
1. Faecal sample Sealed container
2. Whole blood sample EDTA vacutainer, purple stopper
3. Skin scraping Plastic container or sealed petri dish with scalpel blade
4. Parasites Plastic container, preferably in Formalin or Alcohol
5. Exudates Plastic tubes
Virology:
1. Cloacal swab Virus transport medium
2. Tracheal swab Virus transport medium
3. Eye swab Virus transport medium
4. Crusts Sealed petri dish or plastic tubes
5. Organs Frozen, plastic tubes
6. Whole blood In EDTA-vacutainer from Febrile animal, 3-5 tubes
7. Fluid from blisters Sealed plastic tubes
Molecularbiology:
1. Whole blood (unclotted blood) EDTA vacutainer (4 ml), yellow stopper or vacutainer ACD, Solution B
2. Feathers/hair With roots in plastic bags sealed
3. Filter paper strips ISOCODE filter strips
4. Any biopsy Plastic tube 
Tubes available at CVRL for Blood

Haematology/Biochemistry:
1. Whole blood (unclotted blood) EDTA vacutainer (4 ml), purple stopper
2. Serum (clotted blood) Fresh, vacutainer, amount; 5 - 8 ml, brown stopper
3. Blood smears Dried slide, wrapped in aluminium foil
4. Whole blood-avian K2 EDTA-Microtainer
5. Coagulation studies Sodium citrate, Monoject
Analytical Chemistry:
1. Unclotted blood EDTA vacutainer (4 ml), purple stopper
2. Clotted blood Fresh, vacutainer, amount; 5 - 8 ml, brown stopper
3. Organs Unprocessed, frozen, 5 g, sealed plastic container
4. Feed Powdered, 5 g, sealed plastic container
5. Water Sealed plastic container
Pathology/Histopathology:
1. Carcass Unprocessed, as fresh as possible,
2. Organs/parts of organs Sterile, in petri dishes or plastic tubes, sealed
3. Biopsy Formaldehyde, 10 % solution
4. Crust Formaldehyde, 10 % solution
5. Cytology Slides fixed in alcohol, 95 %
Serology:
1. Serum (clotted blood) Fresh, vacutainer, amount; 5 - 8 ml, brown stopper

2. Filter paper

ISOCODE filter strips
Avian Serology/Haematology:
1. Whole blood Commercially available paediatric blood collecting tubes
2. Serum (clotted blood) Microtainer Serum Seperator tube