West Nile Virus IgM Serology (Public Health Cases only)

Ordering Requirements:

• Prior to sample submission, healthcare providers (HCP) must obtain pre-approval by contacting the Local Health Jurisdiction (LHJ) of the patient's county of residence. LHJ staff must then notify Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Office of Communicable Disease Epidemiology (CDE) at (206) 418-5500.
  • King County: Consult the Seattle King Co. Public Health Epidemiologist by calling (206) 296-4774, or contact the Lab Medicine Resident on-call for assistance.
  • Other Counties: WA State Interactive Map of LHJ Websites

Specimen:

• Blood: Collected 4 mL blood in a RED TOP Tube
• CSF: Collect 1 mL CSF in a sterile leak-proof container

Collection Timing:

• Acute:
  • Serum: 8 days post onset of symptoms.
  • CSF: 3 days post onset of symptoms.
• Convalescent: 2-4 weeks after acute

WA DOH Specimen Collection and Submission Instructions: West Nile Virus/St. Louis Encephalitis, MIA

Outside Laboratories (Washington State Only): Providers must obtain permission from the local county public health epidemiologist prior to submitting a sample. If sender is unable to complete an electronic order in the WA DOH ETOR portal, the following information is required: ordering provider name and NPI, patient full name, dob, sex, and address.

• Blood: Centrifuge sample and transfer serum to a separate plastic vial. Refrigerate serum.
• CSF: Refrigerate CSF.
• Transport samples with a cold pack.

Stability: Refrigerated (preferred): 7 days. For long-term storage, freeze at -20°C.

• Blood: Centrifuge sample and transfer serum to a separate plastic vial. Refrigerate serum.
• CSF: Refrigerate CSF.
  
  

Sendouts:

• Place the order in the WA DOH ETOR (Electronic Test Ordering & Results Portal).
  • Manual requisitions are no longer accepted by WAPHL.
• Print the resulting requisition and package it with the sample.
• Order Test: West Nile Virus/St. Louis encephalitis IgM, MIA under WA Virology.
• Enter a separate order for each sample type received.
• Send samples to WPHL via DLMP or Delivery Express courier.

Stability: Refrigerated (preferred): 7 days. For long-term storage, freeze at -20°C.