Chapter Eleven

Animal Procurement

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Signs & Prevention of Disease

Goal of a health program is to avoid all health-related problems, so that accurate data can be obtained with the least amount of discomfort and minimum number of subjectsachieved through preventive medicine & colony-based

health care

Technicians responsibility for maintaining by; purchase & receipt of healthy animals

isolation & quarantine procedures

diagnostic health monitoring

recognizing abnormal condition

Animal Procurement

Animals purchased from

suppliers who specialize in

breeding animals for research. Centralized purchasing helps facility managers

plan for adequate space, caging and supplies.also for staff to maintain animals ordered by scientists

Institutions restrict sources to those with health screening programs & history of high-quality.

Breeding own animals provides strains not available & very young animals more available.Purchasing animals from commercial suppliers,

however, is usually much more economical.

Transportation

Ship by commercial air carriers or trucking firms.Some use own specially equipped trucks

AWA strictly regulates transportation of many types of lab animals & some characteristics of shipping carton material.Sets size standards for containers & specifies number of

animals / box.

States how often food & water must be given during shipment & temp range they may be subjected to.

Specifies shipping containers must have adequate ventilation & allow enough room to turn & make normal postural adjustments.

Shipment

AWA also specifies standards for temperature, cleanliness & ventilation in cargo terminal areas.

Facilities can contract freight forwarding companies to pick up their shipments from these terminals and deliver them directly.

Rodents & rabbits must be shipped in cartons that have projecting spacers on the outside of container to prevent blocked ventilation holes.

Some suppliers use a moist mixture

of feed & water for rodents.Others use watering devices such

as bags with small valves.

Large Animal Transport

May be transported in specially built vehicles that have compartments for individual animals.

May also be shipped in conventional plastic, fiberglass or aluminum transport cages that have feed and water bowls.

Nonhuman primates are usually shipped in wood crates that have large screened windows for ventilation and observation.

Microbiological Status Types of organisms that animal is carrying Conventional = an unknown, uncontrolled variety

& number of microorganisms, reared in open or non-barrier rooms.Normal requirements for maintenance are conventional

caging, bedding, feed & husbandry practices. Germfree, gnotobiotic or specific pathogen free:

These are kept in facilities set up & maintained to exclude microorganisms.

Presence or absence of microorganisms is determined by tests performed in a diagnostic laboratory.

Germfree Animals

Germfree or axenic animals harbor no detectable bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms.Bred, reared & maintained in sterile environment.

No bacteria in intestinal tract to aid in digestion.Animals commonly have digestive problems.

Defined flora or gnotobiotic animals are nearly devoid of microbial life forms.Deliberately given several varieties of harmless

bacteria to overcome some digestive problems.

DF animals must also be housed, handled and transported in a sterile manner.

Specific Pathogen Free

Carefully & routinely monitored to be sure they do not harbor certain pathogenic or disease-producing microorganisms.

Known to be free of specific pathogens, although not necessarily free from all organisms.

Usually maintained in barrier facilities. Important to learn which

specific pathogens an SPF

animal is free of before

placing it w/ animals having

a different microbiological status.

Receipt and Physical Examination

Person receiving shipment observes and notes condition of transport cages.

Compares purchase orders & invoices to confirm animals which arrived were ones expected.

Confirms that complete delivery arrived. Animals examined by a veterinarian, veterinary

technician, or experienced lab animal technician under supervision of a veterinarian.Examination may be either brief or elaborate.

depends on suppliers’ animal health programs, health status of the newly arrived & resident animals

Compares contents with label information.

(Images) Animal Receipt

Receipt and Physical Examination II

Closely examine for signs of hair loss, wounds, diarrhea, discharges or other gross abnormalities.

Note breed or strain, age, gender, supplier & total number of animals received on ID records.

Box may contain >1 strain or sex in sections.Care must be taken not to mix different sexes or

strains when placing the animals in cages.

Low weights could indicate dehydration or a shipping error.

Then take to quarantine & conditioning. A facility may require shipping crates be wiped

down w/ disinfectant before transfer into facility.

(Image) Mice in Shipping Box

Quarantine

Time to recover from stress of shipment & to acclimate to new surroundings.Allows personnel to evaluate animals’ health status.May be a few days to months, depending on species.

No experimental procedures are performed during this period.

Time to evaluate baseline physiological data, vaccinate & treat for overt disease.

Care for known healthy animals in facility before attending those in quarantine.

After quarantine, a conditioning period is started.Many facilities conduct parts of their conditioning

program simultaneously with animal quarantine.

(Image) Quarantine

Conditioning

Refers to being placed under lighting, temp, noise, handling & other physical conditions the same as during experimentation.

Helps minimize stress they might experience during actual testing.

Stressed animals secrete higher than normal levels of certain hormones.

Stress can have profound effects on normal physiological data, such as hematologic & serum biochemical values.These differences could cause errors in research

results.

Health Maintenance

Maintenance of health status is confirmed through quality assurance & health monitoring program.

Involves monitoring health of animals as they arrive from the supplier, as well as periodically testing animals in facility.

For dogs, this means making sure vaccinations are up to date & checking for parasites.

For primates, this will involve

a series of tuberculosis tests. For rodents, health monitoring

usually involves a sentinel program.

Additional Reading

Poole, Trevor (ed.). The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory Animals, 6th. Ed. Longman Scientific and Technical, Essex, England. 1987.