Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2022 April 6

= April 6 =

Capitol fox euthanized for rabies test
The Capitol fox was recently euthanized so that a rabies test could be performed. My question is, why can’t the procedure be done on living animals? My guess is that it can, but it would be too time consuming and costly, and the procedure isn’t authorized to be performed in that manner. Does anyone know the answer? Viriditas (talk) 22:44, 6 April 2022 (UTC)


 * American Humane (and others) says "The only way to test for rabies is by examination of the brain tissue of a dead animal. There is no way to test for rabies infection in a live animal." Clarityfiend (talk) 04:39, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
 * I suspect that the organization was not really considering something like a brain biopsy. I think we can agree that that could be done, and would presumably at least sometimes detect rabies when present, though the sensitivity might well be lower than when the entire brain tissue is available to inspect.  I wouldn't know where to find anyone who's looked into it seriously. --Trovatore (talk) 05:07, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you to you both. The weird thing is, I read the definitive popular book on the subject, Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus (2012), but that was ten years ago, and I can’t remember what it said about this specific subject. Viriditas (talk) 07:46, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
 * Courtesy link for the puzzled: The Capitol Fox, Euthanized After Attacks, Tests Positive for Rabies. Alansplodge (talk) 11:03, 7 April 2022 (UTC)
 * The problem is false negatives, apparently -- rabies can be detected in any part of the brain, but it can only be ruled out by examination of (preferably) the brain stem and the cerebellum. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106;&#x1D110;&#x1d107; 15:15, 7 April 2022 (UTC)