Laboratory Animal Health

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Laboratory Animal Health

• Peter Nowlan
• I

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Principles of Good Laboratory Animal Health

• Sound principles of animal husbandry
• nutrition
• water
• bedding
• light
• sound
• temperature
• ventilation

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Principles of Good Laboratory Animal Health

• Animals
• source of animals
• reputable breeders
• LABAAS scheme/FELASA
• use of animal health monitoring programmes
• quarantine

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Principles of Good Laboratory Animal Health

• Animal health monitoring programmes
• principle of programmes
• sample size (gt2 weanlings, gt4 young adults,
  gt4adults)
• frequency of monitoring (every 3 -6 months)
• sample types (serum, bacteriology, faeces, skin)
• FELASA lists of viruses, bacteria, endoparasites
• gross pathology

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No. ANTIGENS 1. Minute virus of mice
(MVM) 2. Mouse hepatitis virus
(MHV) 3. Pneumonia virus of mice
(PVM) 4. Reovirus type 3 (Reo3) 5. Sendai
virus 6. Theilers encephalomyelitis 7. Hanta
viruses 8. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus
(LCM) 9. Ectromelia virus 10. Lactate
dehyrogenase virus (LDV) 11. Mouse adenovirus
(MAd) 12. Mouse pneumonitis virus (K) 13.
Mouse polyoma virus 14. Mouse thymic virus
(MTV) 15. Mouse rotavirus (EDIM) 16.
Mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV)
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Animal health status categories

• Definitions
• Conventional - harbouring normal indigenous, but
  undefined organisms
• Specific pathogen free (SPF) - free from
  pathogens, which can be specified, but otherwise
  with an undefined microflora
• Germ-free -free from any other detectable form of
  life
• Gnotobiotic - an animal or system in which all
  the life forms are known
• Applications of the various categories of animal
  health status

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Animal house design and health

• rodent control
• Barrier systems
• isolation/quarantine
• layout

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Barrier systems

• Full Barrier shower in / autoclave materials
• Individually Ventilated Racks
• Isolators
• Clean areas

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Full Barrier shower in/ autoclave materials

• Normally used for core breeding colonies
• Minimum people in
• Shower and full change of Clothes
• All materials sterilises on entry / autoclave/
  irradiated/ chemical sterilisation
• Video

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Individually Ventilated Cages

• Used In a Clean Room
• All materials sterilised
• Personnel change going into room
• All manipulations take placein laminar flow
• Video

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Isolation Quarantine
All animals entering an area must be quarantined
And Monitored to an appropriate standard e.g.
FELASA
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Clean Room

• It is often desirable to hold animals in
  conventional areas for short periods while under
  experiment .
• This can be done under clean room
• Not SPF but maintain barriers

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Diseases of mice

• MVM/ MPV infect rapidly growing tissues/ Immuno
  modulatory
• MHV decreases of skin graft rejection
• Helicobacter ( prolapse in IL10 KO)
• Sendai - increase in killer cell mediated
  cytotoxicity
• Pneumocystic Carinii ( immuno suppressed animals
  pneumonia )
• Pin Worms ( alters humoral response to no
  parasitic antigenic stimuli)
• http//www.lal.org.uk/pdffiles/gvsolas.pdf

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Bacterial infections of mice

• Bordetella - respiratory system (surgery)
• Leptospira - zoonosis
• Mycoplasma - respiratory system
• Salmonellae - zoonosis

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Endoparasitic infections of mice

• Eimeria spp.
• Giardia spp.
• Helminths (Syphacia obvelata)

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Zoonoses

• Disease transmissible from animal to man
• Leptospirosis
• Salmonellosis
• LCM
• Ringworm
• Toxoplasmosis
• Toxocariasis

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Zoonosis prevention

• Common sense
• Good hygiene practices
• Protective clothing
• Proper working areas (classes of pathogen)
• Health and safety personnel
• Vaccination

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Conclusions

• Keeping animals physically and mentally
  healthy will help to ensure the quality of
  experimental data and thereby reduce the need to
  repeat studies