Corneal impression technique as a tool for early clinical diagnosis of rabies in animals

The present study describes the use of corneal impression technique for early diagnosis of rabies in animals. A total of 13 ruminants (8 goats, 4 cows and 1 sheep) with history of bite in rabies endemic region of AL-Dakhilia were found positive for rabies on direct FAT of corneal smears using FITC antirabies monoclonal antibody conjugate. Amongst 13 animals, 10 (goat 5, sheep 1, cow 4) showed clinical symptoms of rabies, while 3 goats did not show the symptoms. Out of these 3 goats, one each survived for 20, 21 and 42 days, respectively. These 3 animals were kept under observation until their death. Brain samples from 8 of the 13 animals were collected for further confirmation by FAT, RT-PCR and histopathology. Based on this study, it was found that the corneal impression technique can provide ante-mortem diagnosis of rabies even in animals not showing clinical symptoms of the disease.