Feces: Fecal pellets for PCR evaluation should be collected with clean gloves or sterile forceps and placed in individually labeled sterile containers.  Two to three pellets per animal are adequate.  If multiple animals of the same microbiologic status are to be evaluated, up to 10 fecal pellets can be pooled and tested as one sample.  If fecal pellets from multiple animals are to be collected, gloves should be changed or forceps should be replaced between animals to prevent cross-contamination.  Alternatively, forceps can be wiped clean and immersed in a dilute bleach (10%) solution for 10 minutes prior to reuse.  Fecal pellets for identification of Helicobacters and mnv should be shipped by an overnight carrier, but do not need to be chilled or frozen.  Fecal pellets for identification of other viruses should be frozen and shipped to our laboratory by overnight courier with sufficient dry ice so that samples remain frozen during shipment.