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Idexx Real-Time PCR Panels 
Beginning in December 2007, the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of California at Davis and IDEXX Laboratories have teamed up to make infectious disease surveillance more accessible to animal shelters. IDEXX Reference Laboratories is offering real-time PCR panels for Feline Upper Respiratory Disease and Canine Respiratory Disease for swabs combined from up to 3 animals (maximum of 6 swabs) at a 50% discount for shelters. Such a deal!
For program details, Please read Idexx's shelter surveillance program announcement letter.
Indications for RT-PCR panels and interpretation of results
Diagnostic testing is indicated when a shelter is experiencing an outbreak of unusually severe, frequent, or apparently vaccine resistant disease. The advantage of the RT-PCR panels is that they cover a number of potential pathogens and are highly sensitive for detecting presence of pathogens in acutely affected animals. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that presence of a pathogen does not necessarily indicate a cause-and-effect relationship. Many of the pathogens contained in the Idexx panels can also be isolated from normal, healthy animals with moderate frequency (e.g. Bordetella, herpesvirus, and calicivirus). In addition, recent modified live vaccination may cause positive results on PCR. Therefore, test results should be interpreted in the context of clinical signs in the tested individuals and population; the vaccination history of the tested animals; and the overall prevalence of pathogens in the sample population versus expected levels in a shelter environment.
If you have submitted RT-PCR panels from a shelter to Idexx and would like our input on interpretation of test results, please use our "ask shelter medicine" page. As we gather more information about rates of pathogen isolation on panels from shelter animals, we will share that information on this web site.
If you have an outbreak in which animals are severely affected such that they are being euthanized or dying, please see our diagnostic services home page for more information. Additional samples and testing may be indicated to manage such an outbreak.For more information on management of specific diseases included in the Idexx panels, please see the following information pages:
For Dogs
Canine Distemper
Canine: Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (a.k.a. "Kennel Cough")
Canine flu a brief mini-overview for shelters and rescue groups
For Cats
Feline Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)
Virulent Systemic Feline Calicivirus (VS-FCV)