Where should a tick bite be sent for testing? - briefly
Send the removed tick and any attached skin tissue to a public health laboratory, such as the state health department or a CDC‑affiliated reference lab. If local resources are unavailable, the treating physician can arrange submission to a certified tick‑borne disease testing service.
Where should a tick bite be sent for testing? - in detail
Testing a tick bite requires submission to a laboratory equipped to identify the arthropod and detect potential pathogens. Public health laboratories, state or provincial reference facilities, and accredited university or veterinary diagnostic centers provide the necessary expertise.
Key options for submission include:
- The regional health department’s microbiology unit, which routinely processes vector‑borne disease specimens.
- A state‑run vector‑borne disease reference laboratory, often listed on the website of the national center for disease control.
- University‑affiliated veterinary or medical diagnostic labs that hold accreditation for tick analysis.
Locating the appropriate laboratory involves contacting the local health authority, consulting the national disease control agency’s directory of testing sites, or searching online for “tick testing laboratory” combined with the relevant jurisdiction.
Specimen handling guidelines:
- Preserve the detached tick in a sealed container with 70 % ethanol; avoid crushing the specimen.
- If the bite site is still present, collect a swab of the skin and place it in a sterile transport medium.
- Label the container with collection date, location, and any known travel history.
- Keep the sample refrigerated (4 °C) if transport will exceed 24 hours; otherwise, ship at ambient temperature with appropriate biohazard labeling.
Turnaround time varies by laboratory, typically ranging from 3 days for species identification to 7–14 days for molecular detection of pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp., or Rickettsia spp. Costs are often covered by public health programs; private labs may require out‑of‑pocket payment or insurance billing.
Following these steps ensures that the bite is evaluated by a qualified facility capable of providing accurate diagnostic results.