SUMMARY One hundred and eighty six suspected cases of rabies disease were submitted to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, from 1983 through 1990. The samples (brain) were sent from different regions of the state and then submitted to fluorescent antibody technic (FA), biological test (suckling mice inoculation) and histopathological test for diagnostic purposes. Thirty (16,22%) from 185 cases tested by FA were positive. The biological test showed ten (9,90%) positive samples, from 101 tested. From 163 cases tested by histopathological test, 29(17,79%) samples were positive.
rabies; diagnostic methods
