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