Where can you have a tick tested for encephalitis in a laboratory? - briefly
Public health laboratories, university veterinary diagnostic services, and commercial reference laboratories such as «Quest Diagnostics» and «Labcorp» accept ticks for encephalitis testing. Contact the nearest state health department or the laboratory’s veterinary pathology unit for submission instructions.
Where can you have a tick tested for encephalitis in a laboratory? - in detail
Testing a tick for encephalitis‑causing viruses requires a certified laboratory equipped to handle arthropod specimens and perform molecular or serologic assays. The most common venues include:
• State or provincial public health laboratories – usually operate under the health department’s vector‑borne disease program. Specimens are accepted by mail or direct drop‑off, and results are reported to the ordering clinician or veterinarian.
• National reference centers – for example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Arbovirus Diagnostic Laboratory in the United States, the Public Health England Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) network. Submissions follow the agency’s specimen‑submission guidelines and often require a completed request form and a chain‑of‑custody statement.
• University or research institute laboratories – many veterinary schools and entomology departments run diagnostic services for ticks. These labs typically require a signed requisition from a qualified professional and may offer both PCR detection of viral RNA and immunofluorescence assays.
• Commercial diagnostic companies – firms such as IDEXX Laboratories, ViroScience, and Eurofins Scientific provide tick‑testing kits and mail‑in services. Clients submit ticks in sealed, insulated containers with a cold‑pack, accompanied by a test request form that specifies the target virus (e.g., West Nile, Powassan, Tick‑borne encephalitis virus).
• Hospital or clinical microbiology laboratories – larger medical centers with infectious‑disease units may accept arthropod specimens for in‑house testing, especially when a patient presents with encephalitic symptoms and a recent tick bite.
Specimen handling guidelines are uniform across providers:
«The tick should be placed in a sterile, dry tube or in a tube containing viral transport medium, kept at 4 °C, and shipped within 48 hours of collection».
«Accurate identification of the tick species and developmental stage must be recorded on the submission form».
«A brief clinical history, including date of bite, geographic location, and any symptoms, should accompany the sample».
Payment structures vary: public health labs often waive fees for government‑funded cases, while commercial and university labs charge per specimen, with rates listed on their websites. Turn‑around time ranges from 24 hours (hospital labs) to 7–14 days (reference centers).
In summary, options for laboratory testing of ticks for encephalitis‑related viruses include governmental public health labs, national reference facilities, academic research labs, commercial diagnostic providers, and hospital microbiology departments. Each requires proper specimen packaging, a requisition form, and adherence to transport timelines to ensure reliable results.