Direct fluorescent antibody (DFA or dFA) (also known as "Direct immunofluorescence") is a laboratory test that uses antibodies

Antibody

An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...

 tagged

Fluorescent tag

In molecular biology and biotechnology, a fluorescent tag is a part of a molecule that researchers have attached chemically to aid in detection of the molecule to which it has been attached. The tag is some kind of fluorescent molecule...

 with fluorescent dye that can be used to detect the presence of microorganism

Microorganism

A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...

s. This method offers straightforward detection of antigens using fluorescently labeled antigen-specific antibodies. Because detection of the antigen in a substrate of patient sample (cellular smear, fluid or patient- inoculated culture medium) is the goal, DFA is seldom quantitative.

This is the main test used to detect rabies

Rabies testing

Rabies testing is a test generally done on animals when a person has been bitten.Since the 1960s, the standard test for rabies has been Direct fluorescent antibody test . Because rabies is present in nervous tissue , it's best to test for rabies in brain tissue...

in animals and requires the examination of brain tissue.

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