Ross River Virus
Consistent with O. Reg. 671/92 of the French Language Services Act, laboratory testing information on this page is only available in English because it is scientific or technical in nature and is for use only by qualified health care providers and not by members of the public.
Specimen Requirements
| Test Requested | Required Requisition(s) | Specimen Type | Minimum Volume | Collection Kit |
Ross River Virus Serology |
Whole blood or serum |
5.0 ml blood or 1.0 ml serum |
Clotted blood – vacutainer tubes (SST) |
Submission and Collection Notes
Effective October 3, 2022, the Arbovirus (Non-Zika) Testing Intake Form is a mandatory requirement for Ross River virus testing. PHO’s laboratory utilizes the information on the requisition and the mandatory intake form to assess testing criteria, assign appropriate tests, and provide mandatory information required by the National Microbiology Laboratory for relevant testing performed there.
Clinical information, including any risk factors such as mosquito exposure, and any recent travel, must be provided.
Limitations
Haemolysed, icteric, lipemic or microbial contaminated sera or plasma are not recommended for testing.
Storage and Transport
Centrifuge if using SST. Place specimen in biohazard bag and seal. Specimens should be stored at 2-8◦C following collection and shipped to the PHO’s laboratory on ice packs.
Ship refrigerated specimens on ice packs and frozen specimens on dry ice.
Special Instructions
All specimens submitted for testing must be accompanied by a separate General Test Requisition for each specimen type collected. All fields on each requisition must be completed.
It is also MANDATORY to provide all information requested on the Arbovirus (Non-Zika) Information Intake Form. The Arbovirus (Non-Zika) Information Intake Form may be exempted if all mandatory information is available on the PHO’s General Test Requisition. Specimens submitted with missing mandatory information will not be tested until that information is provided.
Test Frequency and Turnaround Time (TAT)
This test is a Referred Out Test. Specimens are sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg.
Serology TAT is up to 8 days.
Molecular testing TAT is up to 28 days.
Serology is performed using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to detect both IgG and IgM antibodies.
All Ross River virus testing is performed at NML.
Reporting
Reports are sent back to PHO’s laboratory from NML and are then reported and forwarded to the ordering physician or Health care Provider as indicated on the requisition.
Positive results from patients with encephalitis are also reported to the Medical Officer of Health as per Health Protection and Promotion Act.
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