Two options are available for testing mice or rats for fur mites: Pelt swabs or cage swabs.
Pelt Swab Method:
Using a sterile dry flocked swab, thoroughly swab the head, rump and inguinal area of one or more mice or rats in the cage. Insert the swab halfway into a sterile microcentriguge tube, close the microcentrifuge tube lid against the swab shaft and pull down on the swab shaft to break the shaft. The tip end will fall into the tube and the tube can be capped. Plastic shaft swabs are preferred over wooden shaft swabs as they break cleanly. Swabs can be shipped by overnight courier at room temperature or on ice packs.
Cage Swab Method:
Using a sterile dry flocked swab, swab the inside perimeter of empty soiled mouse or rat cages. Swab the inside perimeter of the cage at the level of the bedding. Up to 10 cages can be swabbed using the same swab. Insert the swab halfway into a sterile microcentriguge tube, close the microcentrifuge tube lid against the swab shaft and pull down on the swab shaft to break the shaft. The tip end will fall into the tube and the tube can be capped. Plastic shaft swabs are preferred over wooden shaft swabs as they break cleanly. Swabs can be shipped by overnight courier at room temperature or on ice packs.
Clients have asked what type of swabs are best for collecting fur mite samples. There are several different types of swabs that will work. However, we conducted our recent evaluations using the dry flocked swab below. The plastic shafts make a clean break and fall nicely into the tube, after the swabbing is completed. Wood shaft swabs can sometimes break at an angle, leaving the broken shaft longer than will fit in the sterile microcentrifuge tube. Dry flocked swabs from Fisher Scientific (catalog information 23-600-951, Copan, No.:502CS01) are a convenient tool for this application.
Ship samples to:
IDEXX GmbH
IDEXX BioAnalytics
Im Moldengraben 65
D-70806 Kornwestheim
Germany
