Avian influenza found in South Carolina

[Brooks_]

I get to watch the blood tests being done

Not to derail, but how is the sample collected?

 

[Molpet]

Not sure how rapidly the throat swab/test tube check works, but I think its near instant too.

I was wondering, the wild geese in Illinois took a week. I am assuming they were dead though. But Illinois is slow on a lot of things lol

 

[aart]

Not sure how rapidly the throat swab/test tube check works, but I think its near instant too.

I would think that would need culturing(incubation).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Not to derail, but how is the sample collected?

They have a funny tool that looks like a dental pick, and a thin wire loop on the other side. I hold the bird upside down, wing outstretched. The inspector finds the vein at the wing join, pricks it with the shapr part of the pick, then spins the tool around and collects a blood drop on the loop.

The blood is then mixed with a dot of blue solution on a frosted glass plate. About 60 seconds later, the plate is lifted and tilted back and forth repeatedly to further mix and agitate the sample, and to ensure it spreads in a very thin layer - something breaks the surface tension of the blood.

If its positive, the antibodies in the blood will react with the neutralized stuff in the blue liquid and make little clumps which will be visible in the samples.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I would think that would need culturing(incubation).

you could be right. I have no confidence in my assumptions about how that test works. I jst know they dip the swab in alcohol, scrape the back of the chickens throat, put the swab in a test tube with a clear liquid, spin it around a few times, then set the swab aside. 10 swabs per test tube. The test tubes get capped and taken wth at the end of the inspection. The swabs are disposed of after about 10 minutes.

So I've been imagining some sort of color change or something, like the drug test kits I used to sell (HIGHLY unreliable, thos kits, by the way) to law enforcement, but its entirely possible the test tubes get sent off for a rapid DNA test or some kind of antigen test that's slower than the one done on the plates.

I just don't know.

 

[Molpet]

In the link someone else posted a few pages back, they took the swabs and called at least a day later.

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks for sharing the information, @U_Stormcrow. Glad things are good there, with a minor glitch (fowl pox).

My understanding of fowl pox (the dry kind) is that it will slowly work its way through the flock, then they will heal and be immune to that particular strain. Is that correct? What is the timeline?

 

[Brooks_]

My understanding of fowl pox (the dry kind) is that it will slowly work its way through the flock, then they will heal and be immune to that particular strain

That is my understanding as well.

 

[aart]

So I've been imagining some sort of color change or something, like the drug test kits I used to sell (HIGHLY unreliable, thos kits, by the way) to law enforcement, but its entirely possible the test tubes get sent off for a rapid DNA test or some kind of antigen test that's slower than the one done on the plates.

I just don't know.

...and you didn't ask?!
Did they give the results immediately or....?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

...and you didn't ask?!
Did they give the results immediately or....?

Yes. The guy had me electronically sign everything on property, and said he'd send my renewal as soon as he got back to the office (and internet). A few hours later, I had it in email.

I think I asked before, I just don't remember the answer. Mostly, I was asking him about AI, other flocks in the area, and what he's seeing locally. Which is how I found that local flocks were (like mine) getting tagged with fowl pox from the mosquitos and our odd weather this year.