Sample Submission Hints
Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
Please Call (321) 697-1400
Live Oak Diagnostic Laboratory
Please Call (386) 330-5700
We cannot overemphasize our readiness to answer your questions on the phone. Our widely diverse and well-trained staff is eager to discuss difficult diagnostic problems. However, the following is a list of specimen submission hints which may help you in packaging and shipping a number of basic specimen types.
Specimens for viral isolation should be submitted under cold pack and shipped quickly. This also applies to serum, a common sample for many tests. Clotted blood should be spun and separated as soon after drawing as is practical. Avoid freezing. When requesting serum neutralization for a viral disease, avoid the use of special separator tubes. Bacterial culture swabs or stool samples should arrive chilled if sent overnight. For CBCs, dried blood smears with EDTA blood are ideal. Fixed tissue, whether from biopsy or necropsy, should be sliced 1 cm thick and placed in 10% formalin at 1:10 ratio of tissue to formalin. Avoid submitting frozen carcasses for necropsy.
For more information please see the following lab sections: