I don't claim to be an IBD expert or anything, or even have firsthand knowledge, but from what I've heard, the testing isn't too accurate.

When I had heard about the testing, it was related to me by comparing it to testing for feline leukemia-
If an animal comes up positive, it has IBD. However, if it comes up negative, it may, or may not have IBD. Coming up negative doesn't necessarily prove that it doesn't have it.

That said, I haven't heard anything new about the testing for more than a year. They may have solved that problem by now. But I know that when it first came out, I talked to friends and a vet about it, and the general conclusion is that it was an ineffective test.

Sure, it would tell you your animal is dieing. But then, when it says it won't die, it might still die, and thus, a negative on the test could introduce IBD to the rest of your collection. The people I had talked to about it said they would use it if a specific animal appeared to have IBD, just to prove that it IS IBD, and not something less serious(such as a resp. infection indicated by stargazing).

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• Can IBD be seen in bloodwork??? - speedingbandit, Fri Jun 9 00:47:14 2006
• Yes, it works ! - Siegi, Fri Jun 9 06:54:42 2006
• RE: Yes, it works ! What are you saying - mchambers, Fri Jun 9 08:09:55 2006
• RE: Please give contact info. - PastelDream, Fri Jun 9 13:26:48 2006
• RE: Can IBD be seen in bloodwork??? - redmoon, Fri Jun 9 08:59:26 2006