Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Shorter quarantine periods may be appropriate in
certain situations, especially when the animals are from
a known and trusted source colony. Longer quarantine
periods are appropriate when animals come from new
sources, sources with known risk factors, or when the
animals will be introduced into a highly valuable colony,
thereby risking years of research and loss of irreplace-
able animals due to inadvertent introduction of disease.
In some instances, such as the introduction of new
breeding stock to an SPF colony, quarantine periods as
long as 12 months may be warranted. In general, shorter
quarantine periods should be the exception rather than
the rule.
disposed of carefully so as to minimize the creation of
aerosols. The waste can either be hosed down the drain or,
if bedding is used in the cage pans, be collected in bags for
disposal. The room walls, floor, and ceiling should be
carefully cleaned.
During the quarantine period, cages should be cleaned
daily and removed for sanitation every 2 weeks. In the
face of infectious disease outbreaks, professional judg-
ment may dictate modifying this schedule in order to
minimize stress to the animals and/or excessive exposure
of personnel to infectious animals and their waste. Prior
to removing cages and/or racks from the quarantine
room, they should be cleaned in place and liberally
sprayed with a disinfectant. The soiled cages should be
taken directly to the soiled side of the cage wash area and
immediately placed in the cage washer. It is helpful to
replace cages on the days the animals are immobilized for
routine examinations and tests. The soiled cage is
removed and the immobilized animal
Quarantine Husbandry
The quarantine rooms should only be entered when
necessary; generally this is twice a day for feeding,
cleaning, and animal surveillance. The room should be
viewed through the observation windows prior to entering
the room to ensure that no animals are loose in the room.
An important consideration of quarantine husbandry is
whether or not to socially house animals in quarantine.
Both the
Animal Welfare Act (1986)
and Guide for the
Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (
ILAR, 2010
)
strongly encourage social housing of NHPs. However, it
should be remembered that the primary goal of quarantine
is to prevent the introduction of illness into a facility and
that adequate disease surveillance of animals in quarantine
may be hindered by socially housing animals. For example,
animals who are socially housed will often hide signs of
illness to prevent exposing themselves to aggression from
other animals in their group and it may be more difficult to
identify animals with certain clinical signs. Furthermore,
monitoring individual animals' urine or fecal output, and
collecting fecal samples for disease surveillance is difficult,
if not impossible, when animals are socially housed.
Despite these risks, it may be possible to socially house
some animals for limited periods of time each day or
following an initial screening period after the overall risk of
disease has been assessed to be low. Even in these situa-
tions, it is advisable to maintain strict separation of animals
from different shipments. If socialization is to be attemp-
ted, the ideal situation is to socialize animals from one
source who were previously housed together.
Prior to initiating the husbandry procedures the animals
should be examined for signs of injury, lethargy, anorexia,
dehydration, or other physical and behavioral problems.
After the room is disturbed, even the more subdued animals
react to the observers, presence and may mask signs of
illness with a fight or flight response. Staff should be
adequately trained to recognize signs of illness.
The character of the feces and urine should be noted in
the cage pan prior to disposal. The waste should be
is allowed to
recover in a clean cage.
All bedding and other waste material should be double
bagged and disposed of properly. This will vary based on
local requirements. Most states have very specific
requirements for the disposal of infectious or potentially
infectious waste. In an uneventful quarantine, the waste
may be washed down the drain to the sewer system or be
double bagged and disposed of as other animal waste, i.e.
incinerated or in a landfill. If the waste is determined to be
infectious, federal, state, and local regulations should be
consulted but usually they require disinfecting the waste
prior to disposal either through the use of chemical or heat
sterilization.
Quarantine Health Surveillance and
Diagnostic Procedures
The specific details of health surveillance and diagnostic
procedures are discussed later. The focus here will be how
these procedures contribute to the successful quarantine
program.
After receipt, the animals should be observed and
allowed to acclimate for at least 48
e
72 hours. Because of
the stress of shipping, animals may show evidence of
disease during this time. The daily surveillance performed
by trained animal technicians is critical in identifying
animals in need of treatment. Confidence in the compe-
tence of the technical personnel is imperative since quar-
antine facilities are minimally accessed and are usually
separate from the colony. A good training program is
essential to ensure that staff is knowledgeable in the
recognition of clinical signs of disease and empowered to
notify veterinary staff of any concerns regarding animal
health. A clear, reliable reporting mechanism is essential in
