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22 THE RURAL VOICE
DIAGNOSTICS
This month, vets at Veterinary Laboratory Services in Huron Park offer
their first article in a series which will look at a variety of livestock health
problems. They begin by introducing their laboratory and the work it does.
USING THE VETERINARY LAB SERVICES
by Dr. G. K. A. Josephson — Head, Veterinary Laboratory Services
The Veterinary Laboratory
Services system provides a backup
diagnostic system for veterinarians
faced with unusual problems.
The laboratory at Huron Park,
located on the campus of Centralia
College, as well as the other labora-
tories at Brighton, Guelph, Kempt-
ville, New Liskeard, and Ridgetown,
come under the Advisory and Tech-
nical Services branch of OMAF.
Specimens are submitted to the lab
by the vet or the farmer. Although it
isn't essential, we encourage farmers
to contact their vet before submitting a
sample. This not only keeps the vet
aware of what's happening on the
farm, but also helps ensure that the
sample submitted is the correct one.
The answer a farmer gets depends
on the quality and appropriateness of
the sample sent to the lab. If the
problem at the farm is one of sudden
deaths in a flock of poultry, for ex-
ample, the submission should include
some birds that have recently died.
Similarly, if there is a diarrhea
problem in piglets, it is essential that
we receive at least one live, untreated
animal early in the course of the dis-
ease. In cases of bovine abortion, sub-
mitting a portion of the placenta along
with the fetus greatly enhances the
possibility of arriving at a diagnosis.
As results become available, they
are mailed or telephoned to the vet. A
copy of only the final report is mailed
to the farmer, so we encourage farm-
ers to contact their vet for interim
results or for an interpretation of the
final result.
The Veterinary Laboratory Ser-
vices diagnostic system can handle
most requests concerning disease
conditions in livestock or pet animals.
But not all of the labs are equipped to
do all of the tests. For example, virus
and Mycoplasma isolation attempts,
the identification of various toxic
compounds, and the detection of anti-
bodies from serum samples (indicating
the presence of a specific disease) can
only be carried out at the Guelph lab.
While post mortem examination
results are usually available the day of
submission, it generally takes 48 hours
to get an antibiotic sensitivity pattern
for bacteria. Virus isolation results
can take from 14 to 21 days. The test
for mycotoxins in feed takes a week.
And since only a limited number of
feed samples can be tested at one time,
there may be a backlog of several
weeks. This is particularly true after
a new corn crop is harvested, when
farmers and seed companies are anx-
ious to see if there are mycotoxins in
their feed.
The laboratory does charge for its
services. At present, the maximum
charge for food -producing animals
and birds is $35 ($125 for companion
animals — dogs, cats, and horses).
Charges may be above the maximum
if work is done by other agencies, and
for some procedures such as testing
for mastitis or Enzootic Bovine
Leukosis.
It is not always possible to arrive at
a specific diagnosis or cause of death.
In some cases, however, "No Specific
Diagnosis" may be a significant find-
ing. In the case of bovine abortions
this diagnosis rules out the common,
often preventable causes of abortion
— Brucellosis, Leptospirosis, Infec-
tious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, and
Bovine Virus Diarrhea.
An achievement this year was the
installation of a computer system in
the Veterinary Laboratory Services
Branch. There are still a few glitches
and gremlins in the system, but it is
working well at its job of recording
cases, tracking specimens, recalling
test results, and preparing reports.0