Z-III.2. Laboratory for Rabies and General Virology

Laboratory of Rabies and General Virology conducts the diagnostics of viral diseases in domestic animals and wild game, primarily diagnostics of agents causing respiratory diseases in ruminants, such as infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial virus infection, Aujeszky’s disease and rabies, which is still a public health problem on global scale.

The Laboratory is also engaged in the control of immunogenicity of viral monovalent and polyvalent vaccines of poultry, pigs, cows and carnivores of domestic farms and also of imported vaccines registered in Croatia.
Diagnostic procedures include isolation and identification of viruses on primary and line cell cultures, virus neutralisation tests on cell cultures, hemagglutination and hemadsorption, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunoassay method (ELISA), direct and indirect fluorescent antibody technique (FAT), etc.

Etiological diagnostics of rabies is conducted by direct immunofluorescence as the “golden standard” and isolation of agent on cell culture (BHK) as well as biological experiment on mice.
In the serological diagnostics of rabies, for immunity control in dogs and cats, enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) and FAVN test on cell culture are conducted. These methods are used for control of immunological response in foxes in order to assess the efficiency of the campaigns of their oral vaccination against rabies in the wild.

In order to gain insight into the frequency of taking baits with vaccine during such campaigns, bones of killed foxes are tested on the presence of oxytetracycline by means of fluorescent microscopy.