Keeping individuals and family pets together while focusing on public safety are the objectives of a brand-new offering at the University of Missouri (MU) College of Veterinary Medicine.
The college has actually introduced a rabies antibody screening service within its Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (VMDL). The offering will supply qualified test results for buddy animals that are taking a trip to locations which need owners to reveal evidence of rabies resistance defense for family pets prior to entry.
Historically, family pets taking a trip from locations where rabies exists (i.e. U.S. mainland) to big islands or nations where the illness is not present would be needed to quarantine in seclusion upon arrival for 4 to 6 months, provided for how long the rabies incubation duration is. Advancements in antibody screening, nevertheless, and factors to consider for family pets to be able to quarantine in their owner’s home prior to travel abroad have actually because permitted the intro of less limiting “pet passport” procedures.
The antibody screening service at MU—among just 4 of its kind in the U.S.—is presently planned for dogs, cats, and ferrets taking a trip with their owners to Hawaii, Guam, New Zealand, Australia, and St. Kitts & Nevis.
“Now, you can submit a blood sample from your pet before your trip, and if the blood test shows adequate levels of rabies antibody immunity from previous vaccines or booster shots, the pet earns a certificate to avoid the inconvenience of having to quarantine in isolation upon arrival at the destination,” says MU’s laboratory’s director, Susan Moore, PhD.
Prior to signing up with MU, Dr. Moore led the Kansas State University (K-State) Rabies Laboratory for 21 years. While in this function, she examined 50,000 blood samples for family pet travel each year usually, of which around 15,000 each year were particularly for tourists to Hawaii, MU reports.
“The demand for this service continues to grow,” she says. “While I was at K-State, each year we would always receive more and more samples compared to the year before, and I anticipate that increased demand to continue to grow going forward.”
