The health status of the animals can have wide-reaching consequences for both the experiment and the facility staff, and should be discussed at an early stage. This discussion should include:
- The source of the animals
- The method of transport to the facility (links to guidelines)
- The duration and location of quarantine, if necessary
- The possible health consequences for the facility’s personnel
- The need for special facilities, protective clothing, vaccinations, blood tests and other information to personnel about the possible risks to them and other animals in the facility (e.g. allergy/asthma and potential effects on reproductive function)
- Health monitoring, which may include clinical, behavioural, microbiological, serological, biochemical and histopathological studies. An assessment of the importance of any subclinical infections known to be present in the facility should be made, in close collaboration with the named veterinary officer.
There will very likely be local or national legislation in place regulating these activities.
More resources
- Replacing sentinel animals with environmental health monitoring (NC3Rs page)
- FELASA recommendations for health monitoring
- Bibliography from AWIC on replacing sentinel animals with environmental sampling
- A Guide to Modern Strategies for Infection Surveillance of Rodent Populations: Beyond Sentinels (Charles River)
- 3RsC resource page on rodent health monitoring
- 3RsC resource page on Environmental Health Monitoring
- Cooper et al. (2022): Research relevant conditions and pathology of laboratory mice, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, naked mole rats, and rabbits
- Bau-Gaudreault et al. (2021): Research-relevant clinical pathology resources: Emphasis on mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, minipigs and non-human primates
- Saravanan et al. (2021): Research relevant conditions and pathology in nonhuman primates
- Helke et al. (2021): Research relevant background lesions and conditions: ferrets, dogs, swine, sheep, and goats
- Mangus et al. (2021): Research-relevant background lesions and conditions in common avian and aquatic species
- DORA (Diseases of Research Animals) database
- Harper et al. (2021): High-Containment Agriculture Animal Research: An AAALAC International Perspective
- Klages (2021): IACUC and Veterinary Considerations for Review of ABSL3 and ABSL4 Research Protocols
- Lewis & Pickering (2021): Livestock and Risk Group 4 Pathogens: Researching Zoonotic Threats to Public Health and Agriculture in Maximum Containment
- Brake et al. (2021): Challenges and opportunities in the use of high and maximum biocontainment facilities in developing and licensing risk group 3 and risk group 4 agent veterinary vaccines
- Applications in Developing Technologies for Rodent Health Surveillance (recorded webinar, 16 September 2020)
- Special issue of Laboratory Animals (2019) on microbiota, laboratory animals and research
- Complex microbiota in laboratory rodents: management considerations (Franklin & Ericsson, 2020)
- Standardizing the microbiota of fish used in research
- Assessment of methods of destruction of Syphacia muris eggs (pinworms)
- Physiological indicators of animal welfare
- Antibiotic therapeutics in laboratory animals (Morris, 1995)