Frequently Asked Questions in the Toxicology
Unit of the WVDL
Q: I think that my animal has been poisoned. Should I contact you?
A: The University of Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic
Laboratory is chartered to help the professional husbandry community of
the state. Only licensed veterinarians, poultry producers or fish farmers
may submit samples to the lab. Also, if multiple parties, the food stream,
an environmental spill or any other legal action may be involved, the
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's Toxic Response
Hotline should be called first. It has responders trained in chain of
custody issues and lawyers to sort out regulatory implications, and can
be
contacted at (608) 224 - 4500.
Q: How can I be sure that this is a toxicology case?
A: In many
instances, suspected poisonings turn out to be infectious disease or
trauma. A thorough clinical evaluation or submission of entire dead
animals to the WVDL for necropsy is suggested to determine the cause of
death.
Q: What information do you need?
A: To make a diagnosis, we would like to begin by knowing the following things:
1) How many animals are in the heard or group? How many have been exposed?
How many are affected? How many have died?
2) What are the species or breed of each animal? What are the ages, sexes and
pregnancy status?
3) What are the clinical signs? (temperature, color of stool, blood and urine,
physical condition and neurological symptoms)
4) When did the symptoms start? Have there been any changes over time? Any
previous lab work or other illness?
5) When was the last feeding? What are the current feed components and ration?
When was it last changed?
6) Are there other unusual events in the neighborhood? Any abnormalities in
the environment? Could foul play be a factor?
Q: What should I send?
A: Send a representative
amount of the sample types described below. Since diagnoses often end far
from their starting point and specimens not taken may be lost, please mail
in as many different kinds of submissions as possible.
|
Type |
Amount |
Storage |
Possible Tests |
| Envonmental |
Feeds, Baits, Paint Chips, Plants |
up to 1 kg |
Frozen in a plastic bag or glass jar |
Additives, Anions, Antifreeze, Anticoagulants, Cyanide, Ionophores,
Metals, Mycotoxins, Pesticides, Plant ID, ToxiLab, Zinc Phosphide |
| Water |
1 liter |
Cooled but not frozen in a clean glass jar |
Anions, Metals, Pesticides |
| Antemortem |
Whole Blood |
10 mL |
EDTA (purple) or heparin (green) tube, hand mix before sending |
Ammonia, Anticoagulants, Arsenic, Cholinesterase, CBC, Cyanide,
Lead, Manganese, Mercury, Methemoglobin, Molybdenum, Selenium,
Taurine, Urea |
| Serum |
10 mL |
Spun and separated from clot, use a non-rubber cap for zinc and
a plastic tube for iron |
Anions, Antifreeze, Calcium, ChemPanel, Copper, IgG, Iron, Magnesium,
Potassium, Sodium, T3/T4, Taurine, ToxiLab, Vitamins, Zinc |
| Urine |
100 mL |
Kept cool in a plastic screw-top container inside a plastic bag |
Alkaloids, Heavy Metals, ToxiLab, Urolith |
| Milk |
100 mL |
Kept cool in a plastic screw-top container inside a plastic bag |
Iodine, Heavy Metals, Pesticides |
| Liver Punch Biopsy |
100 mg |
Kept cool in a plastic bag or test tube |
Metals |
| Postmortem |
Ingesta |
1 kg |
Kept cool in a plastic bag |
Additives, Anions, Antifreeze, Anticoagulants, Avitrol, Cyanide,
Ionophores, Metals, Mycotoxins, Pesticides, pH, Plant ID, ToxiLab,
Zinc Phosphide |
| Liver |
100 g |
Kept cool in a plastic bag |
Anticoagulants, Heavy Metals, Pesticides, ToxiLab |
| Kidney |
100 g |
Kept cool in a plastic bag |
Heavy Metals, Pesticides, ToxiLab |
| Brain |
whole or saggital half |
Kept cool in a plastic bag |
Cholinesterase |
| Occular Fluid |
entire eye |
Kept cool in a plastic bag |
Anions |
Q: Why do I need to hand mix whole blood tubes and separate sera from
the clot?
A: The EDTA or heparin in whole blood tubes does not automatically blend with
the blood, so unmixed samples will still clot. When shipped during the winter
or packed in ice, clots in serum tubes will hemolyze, altering test results.
Q: What should I do with the rest of the body when I am done sampling?
A: If any carcasses might be contaminated, keep them onsite until we confirm
their status. Withhold any milk or eggs from animals that may have been exposed
from the food stream.
Q: What's the difference between the ToxiLab and GC/MS screen?
A: The ToxiLab screen uses paper chromatography to detect household pharmaceuticals
and chemicals. The more expensive
GC/MS screen uses gas chromatography to find a much larger set of agricultural
pesticides and toxins.
Q: What do the results mean?
A: Normal ranges for our most often requested tests can be found here.
Q: Do you test for drugs?
A: While our ToxiLab test detects the
presence of many drugs, we refer anyone seeking legal action or
therapeutic levels to Industrial Labs in Denver at (303) 287 - 9691, International Diagnostic Systems in
Michigan at (269) 428 - 8400 or Truesdail Labs in Tifton, California
at (714) 730-6239.
Q: I still have more questions. How can I contact you?
A: Call (608) 262 - 5432 to speak with Dave, Pat or Steve in the toxicology department
or a staff pathologist.
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