Policies> Rodent Pathogen Control Program
1 PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to describe what procedures Animal Care Services (ACS) has adopted to control rodent pathogens. The control of rodent pathogens within a colony is integral to reducing experimental variables experienced within in vivo test systems at the University of Florida (UF).
2 SCOPE
This policy applies to Principal Investigators (PIs) housing animals in ACS areas.
3 DEFINITIONS
SPF - Specific Pathogen Free – Animals which are know by testing to not have certain specific pathogens. The individual pathogens actually excluded are commonly limited by the health status of the rodents available from the commercial vendors.
Approved Vendor - Commercial vendors or institutions whose quality assurance programs are comprehensive and dependable enough to provide significant assurance that their animals are indeed free of specific rodent pathogens.
Non-Approved Vendor - Commercial vendors or institutions whose quality assurance programs do not provide significant assurance that their animals are indeed free of specific rodent pathogens. Vendors or institutions whose animals are known to carry excluded pathogens will fall into this category.
Pathogens Excluded lists – Lists of specific murine pathogens excluded from UF animal colonies. These are available within the Mouse and Rat Specific Pathogen Free Policies at http://acs.ufl.edu/policies.shtml.
4 POLICY
4.1 ACS has been able to almost eliminate the incidence of rodent rooms containing rodents infected with one or more of the pathogens listed on the Pathogens Excluded lists.
4.2 Any animal room containing pathogens listed on the Pathogen Exclusion Lists will be considered in a quarantine status. ACS Veterinary Care staff will develop and implement a pathogen containment and/or treatment plan for the individual animal room.
4.3 The Faculty Advisory Committee has reviewed and approved this Rodent Pathogen Control Program.
4.4 The program consists of the following:
4.4.1 ACS will house, except under quarantine conditions, only rodents that are free of the pathogens listed on the Pathogens Excluded lists.
4.4.2 Rodents received from approved vendors may be introduced into any ACS rodent facility without quarantine.
4.4.3 All rodents received from non-approved rodent vendors will be quarantined within isolators for six weeks, regardless of their ultimate housing location. The entire process will take between seven and eight weeks.
4.4.3.1 Each isolator will have sentinels placed. Following testing of the sentinels, if no excluded pathogens are detected the animals will be released from quarantine.
4.4.3.2 Various charges will be accessed for animals in quarantine status.
4.4.4 The relocation of all animals, especially rodents, must be approved the ACS Veterinary Care staff. The PI may request animal relocation by completing the Animal Relocation Request form and submitting it to the ACS Business Office. The request form is available at the myACS website.
4.4.5 Rodent cage racks identified with one or more pathogens on the Pathogens Excluded lists will placed into quarantine status within 48 hours, unless otherwise approved by the ACS Director.
4.4.6 ACS intends to house mice at the UF with one standard of care, SPF.
4.4.6.1 Standardizing care will reduce the risk of introducing pathogens and reduce the overall cost of animal care.
4.4.7 ACS will continue to secure rodent facilities with “Palm Readers” and cameras and limit access to trained personnel only.
4.4.8 ACS encourages investigators to keep foundation stock for each strain in a semi-rigid isolator or in individually ventilated cage racks within the Cancer and Genetics Research Complex (CGRC) rodent breeding colony.
4.4.8.1 Housing in a semi-rigid isolator provides the optimal security for preventing the introduction of pathogens, and a “backup” in the event that there is an outbreak within their colony.
4.4.9 Mice lines which become infected with murine pathogens may be re-established using rederivation methods (embryo transfer).
4.5 Quarantine procedures for CGRC rodent breeding colony:
4.5.1 Standard quarantine practices, as described above, apply to animals being introduced to the CGRC rodent breeding colony.
4.5.2 As an exception, mice from the ACS SPF 2 and the Pathology Department colonies may be housed in separate individual ventilated cage racks within the breeding colony, but only if the PI includes two immune competent mice from the colony, between two to six months of age, to be used for pathogen testing.
4.5.2.1 If these mice test free of pathogens two weeks after arrival, the remainder of the animals may be released from quarantine.
4.6 Quarantine procedures for CGRC rodent housing areas:
4.6.1 Mice entering an investigator’s colony at the CGRC from the breeding colony, ACS SPF 2, or the Pathology Department colony require no quarantine period.
4.6.2 Mice entering an investigator’s colony at the CGRC from any other facilities on campus will undergo the routine quarantine procedure in isolators.
