| Quarantine
of Rodents from Non-Commercial Sources
Quarantine
: Quarantine is the process of isolating newly acquired
animals until they are determined to be free of infectious disease.
Two
objectives:
1.
Evaluate the health status of animals from non-commercial vendors/suppliers
and identify possible infectious diseases
2.
Prevent the introduction of infectious diseases into the WSU rodent
facilities
Non-Commercial
Sources: Non-commercial
sources include other colleges, universities, research facilities,
medical institutes, pet stores, trapped wild rodents and any other
source that is not an OCV approved SPF vendor. See pg. 2 for a list
of WSU approved rodent vendors.
Recommended
Quarantine: Quarantine and surveillance with rodent sentinels
is recommended for all rodents from non-commercial sources entering
long-term rodent colonies with rats, mice, wild mice, hamsters,
guinea pigs and gerbils. Short-term rodent colonies may be exempt
from quarantine only if they meet the following criteria:
1.
The colony will only be in existence for 6 weeks or less
2.
All of the animals will be eliminated and the room completely emptied
and sanitized before any new animals are placed
3.
Animals originate from an OCV approved SPF colony or vendor
4.
Animals from the untested colony will not share laboratory space
or equipment with animals from long-term colonies
Prior
to Shipment : Before rodents are shipped to WSU, the following
information should be sent to OCV to determine the disposition of
the incoming shipment:
•
The final colony where the animals are to be
placed (health status of existing colony, room number and vivarium)
•
The length of time the animals will remain at
WSU
•
Any serology, parasitology and bacteriology results
from the original colony at the non-commercial source covering a
minimum of a year prior to shipment.
•
A description of the rodent health monitoring
process at the non-commercial source including frequency of testing,
surveillance method & diseases monitored.
OCV
will evaluate the status of the animals and determine the appropriate
quarantine procedures. We strongly discourage investigators
from acquiringanimals with known contaminants . To
be accepted, contaminated animals must be used acutely, treated
or re-derived as soon as possible.
Housing
of Quarantined Animals: Ideally, quarantined rodents would
be housed in closed micro-isolator or ventilated cages in a separate
room with cage changing and handling done under biocontainment flow
hood to prevent contamination of other animals. A minimum of 2 sentinel
animals per shipment of the appropriate species will be placed in
the room for a minimum of 6 weeks for dirty-bedding sentinel surveillance.
Sentinels may originate with the shipment or from WSU. Quarantined
animals should not be moved into other animal rooms, procedure rooms
or laboratories due to potential contamination.
Selection
of sentinel animal:
Please
refer to the WSU Rodent Colony Health Monitoring Guidelines http://campusvet.wsu.edu/iacuc/rodentmonitoring.htm
Frequency
of Testing: Normal animals
seroconvert within two to three weeks of exposure to a virus so
testing before three weeks of exposure could result in false-negative
results. Sentinel will be processed after a minimum
of 6 weeks to provide maximal opportunity for seroconversion.
Testing:
After a minimum of 6 weeks,
1 of the 2 sentinels will be processed. Serum will be collected
for a CRL Tracking profile. The processed sentinel will be
submitted to WADDL for parasitology. If more comprehensive health
status testing is required, a separate list of charges accompanies
this document. Those additional charges would be the responsibility
of the investigator or vivarium management.
Results:
A summary of the results will
be sent via email to the investigator and appropriate vivarium manager.
OCV will indicate whether the animals may be released from quarantine
and placed with the existing WSU colony. In the event of positive
results, the remaining sentinel mouse will be retested. It may be
necessary to re-derive or re-order the shipment. Upon
negative results, the remaining sentinel is to be euthanized.
When the colony is moved into it's new location, new sentinels are
to be placed.
Approved
vendors include:
Charles
River Labs
Taconic
Harlan
Jackson
Labs
Simonsen
Labs
Individual
vivaria criteria may dictate the use/non-use of certain approved
vendors.
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