Rabies diagnosis

A reliable diagnosis of rabies can only be made based on laboratory examination of specimens collected from suspected animals. Without data from diagnostic tests, it is not possible to establish rabies control policies. These data are also necessary for evaluating the impact of control measures on the disease and to adapt veterinary and human health policies to the rabies situation. This paper presents the routine laboratory techniques for rabies diagnosis that are published and recommended by both the OIE and WHO and which form the basis of rabies surveillance. They are presented along with more recent techniques which have proved useful in epidemiological and phylogenetic studies. The first step in controlling a disease is to be able to identify it consistently. A reliable and sensitive diagnostic test is therefore essential for use in epidemiological studies and disease control. Reliable diagnosis is also needed by official medical and veterinary services to decide how to deal with infected humans or animals. Without knowing where rabies is present in a country, it is difficult to establish a solid, long-term control policy. A viral disease may be diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs or after laboratory examination. Clinical diagnosis is based on the observation of symptoms and on observation of specific or at least highly evocative signs. Laboratory tests reveal the presence of infection using either indirect or direct methods. The most frequently used indirect methods are based on serological testing. Direct methods aim to detect the virus itself, its proteins, genetic material or traces of its replication in tissues.