St. Louis Encephalitis 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 |
St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) serology |
Blood or serum |
1.0 ml blood or 400 µl of serum |
Vacutainer tubes (SST) |
|
St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) PCR |
Plasma (preferred) |
1.0 ml |
Plasma with non-heparin anticoagulant (or serum) |
|
St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) PCR |
CSF |
400 µl |
Sterile container |
Submission and Collection Notes
Molecular testing must must be preapproved by the PHO laboratory microbiologist. Contact PHO laboratory Customer Service at 416-235-6556 or 1877-604-4567 to request approval.
Complete the following on the General Test Requisition Form:
- relevant travel history
- onset date
- symptoms
Instructions for using SST tubes are found in the document titled: LAB-SD-008, Blood Collection using Serum Separator Tubes
Storage and Transport
Label the specimen container with the patient’s full name, date of collection and one other unique identifier such as the patient’s date of birth or Health Card Number. Failure to provide this information may result in rejection or testing delay.
Special Instructions
Place specimen in a biohazard bag and seal. Serology specimens should be stored at 2-8°C following collection and shipped to the PHO laboratory on ice packs.
Specimens for molecular testing should be frozen and shipped on dry ice.
Test Frequency and Turnaround Time (TAT)
Serology turnaround time is up to 8 days and Molecular testing (PCR) turnaround time is up to 28 days from receipt by PHO laboratory.
The St. Louis Encephalitis virus serology testing is performed using a Hemagglutination Inhibition Assay (HAI) for the detection of antibodies to St. Louis Encephalitis Virus. Samples that are reactive can be further analyzed for the presence of neutralizing antibodies by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT).
Molecular detection by RT-PCR is performed after approval by the PHO laboratory microbiologist. Amplicons generated are subjected to DNA sequencing. CSF will only be tested once it has been shown that anti-flavivirus antibodies are present in the patient’s serum (via HAI testing).
All St. Louis Encephalitis virus testing is performed at the National Microbiology Laboratory.
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