Training Videos: Materials | Collection | Packaging | TVMDL facilities
Testing by TVMDL as part of the Texas Animal Health Commission Trichomoniasis Program (Page: 2 | 3 )

Effective April 1, 2009, the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) made Trichomoniasis a reportable disease in Texas. See the TAHC web page at http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/ for specific details on the regulation and the requirements for interstate and intrastate movement of bulls. Testing for this program will be provided by TVMDL at both the College Station and the Amarillo laboratories. Testing requirements include the use of one PCR (Molecular) test or three consecutive culture tests, not less than one week apart. The testing methods and procedures used in College Station and Amarillo employ the same testing protocols, identical reagents, and identical testing equipment. The costs for Trich testing are currently $25.00 ($30.00 out of state) for the PCR test and $6.00 ($7.00 out of state) for each culture test. Test results at both laboratories are available in 5 working days for the PCR test and in 6 days for each culture.

Texas Veterinarians participating in the Trich Testing Program will be required to complete Certification requirements for testing. With TAHC’s permission we are providing here the complete training video that is a part of the certification process. Additionally, we have separated the three sections of the video and made them available individually. The four sections are

1. Specimen Collection
2. Materials
3. Shipping
4. Testing by TVMDL

The text of the Shipping and Testing sections are provided below:

“TVMDL is one of the largest and busiest Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories in the world. There are four laboratories in the TVMDL System and in 2007 over 222,000 cases with over 1.4 million individual tests were processed through the Laboratory System. Many of those cases involved testing for bovine reproductive diseases, including Trichomoniasis. Because of the reproductive losses suffered by the beef industry in Texas, the Texas Animal Health Commission has made Trichomonas or Trich a reportable disease. As the program develops TVMDL will be tasked with providing the testing required to identify bulls infected with the Trich organism.

Specimens arriving for testing at TVMDL will go through multiple steps in a testing and reporting process that will provide you with accurate tests results. The process begins with Specimen Receipt, normally from an overnight courier such as Fed Ex or UPS. Each day between 600 and 800 other packages also arrive at TVMDL. Therefore, it is critical that this process be efficiently and accurately completed.

As each package is opened, specimen containers are inspected for damage and that they are accurately identified. The specimen IDs on the Trich pouch will then checked against the list of IDs provided on the TAHC submission form. Legible and accurate identification of each specimen is essential to the accuracy of the entire testing program. As a final step, the number of specimens received, name of the courier, and initials of the person opening the package will be recorded on the submission form. Legible and accurate recording of animal identifications on each trich pouch and on the TAHC Trich Submission form is essential to the accuracy of the entire testing program.

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