How do I submit a specimen to the Public Health Laboratory Rabies Lab?
The Arkansas Department of Health Laboratory has assembled shipping containers for packaging and transporting the specimen to the rabies laboratory. These shipping containers are available at every Local Health Unit. Remove the head of the animal without damaging the brain and allow the blood to drain. Place specimen in the ziplock bag provided in the shipping container and seal. Chill specimen in a refrigerator prior to packaging. It is extremely important that the specimen remain cool until it arrives at the laboratory. Cooling the specimen prior to shipment helps retard decomposition which may prevent detection of the rabies virus. Immediately before shipment, place the specimen and at least two (2) cold packs (ice substitutes – do not use wet or dry ice) inside the Styrofoam container in the plastic bucket and place the lid on Styrofoam container. For large specimens use more than two cold packs. The completed rabies form (HL-12) should be placed on top of the Styrofoam lid. Do not
