Diagnostic Plan

The diagnostic plan is a scientific preventive health program using a team approach, including you, the producer, your veterinarian, and a laboratory.  An Addison Biological Laboratory representative consults with your veterinarian to help identify and diagnose specific herd health problems.

Guidelines for sample submission of
(Tissue submitted for bacteriology should be fresh, not formalized)

Intestinal Samples: Submissions for culture and sensitivity should be packaged separately from lung, liver, brain and other tissue samples.

Nasal Swabs: Samples should be submitted using culturette swabs with transport media and not placed in broth.

Isolation of Haemophilus: Due to the nature of the organism, tissues should be submitted immediately. The lung sample can be placed in glycerin or frozen before shipment.

Other Tips: Including a plate culture can speed up results and help in the isolation of bacterial pathogens, but please include a sample of tissue in case of plate contamination or poor environmental conditions during shipment.  Pure culture isolates should be submitted on an agar plate or slant rather than in broth cultures.

Pinkeye Samples: Culture cattle's eyes at the earliest stages of pinkeye (Actively tearing, untreated animals - ideally no chronic cases) by gently rolling cotton swab under eyelids to recover lacrimal fluid.  Swab 1/3 of blood agar plate surface within 15 minutes of culturing eyes.   Perform this procedure in as clean an area as possible (a truck with the windows up).

Please fill out a Pinkeye Investigation Form and include with the samples to be submitted.  Click here for the form.

Do not expose plate to direct sunlight for an extended period and do not incubate.  Tape plates closed, identify by clinic and farm name.

Pinkeye culture kits containing instructions, blood agar plates and swabs are available upon request.

Milk Samples: Bulk milk tank sample is recommended along with separate milk samples taken from infected cows.   When drawing individual cow samples, ensure that teats are cleaned to remove surface contaminants and/or disinfectants before drawing diagnostic samples.  Samples may be drawn from 3-4 individually infected cows.