Influence of canine brain decomposition on laboratory diagnosis of rabies

Canine brains infected with rabies virus were submitted to decomposition by being left at room temperature of 25 to 29oC for up to 168h. At 24h intervals, brain fragments were analyzed by immunofluorescence (IF) and by the mouse intracerebral inoculation (MI) test to confirm the diagnosis of rabies and to measure the putrefaction effect on the accuracy of the diagnosis. Forty eight h after the beginning of the experiment, the MI test showed signs of impairment with four negative results, while after 72h, 100% of the results were negative to the MI test and only one result was negative to the IF test, indicating that the threshold period for accurate diagnosis is 24 to 48h before putrefaction. The authors recommend the shipment of suspected cases of rabies to the laboratory for confirmation, but the use of putrid materials for diagnosis is meaningless because of false-negative results.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Albas,Avelino, Ferrari,Clara Izabel de Lucca, Silva,Luzia Helena Queiroz da, Bernardi,Fernanda, Ito,Fumio Honma
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT 1999
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86821999000100004
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!