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LARC Rodent Program
Rodent Quarantine Programs at UCSF
The rodent research program at UCSF is incredibly
varied in terms of academic disciplines, type of scientific investigation,
geographic distribution of facilities, and physical structure
of facilities. The research personnel at UCSF have a large diversity
of background and experience of academic and scientific staff,
as well as very large numbers of academic and scientific staff
(animal users).
An important aspect of ensuring quality results
from research performed in rodents is providing assurance that
experimental results are free from interference by infectious
disease of rodents. Although quarantine programs are costly to
UCSF and may appear cumbersome to research staff in terms of
time and convenience, the positive benefits in terms of disease
prevention and therefore successful research overcome these perceived
drawbacks. For all of these reasons well-defined and strictly
maintained programs of quarantine for rodents is essential.
UCSF
Rodent Quarantine Programs are used to:
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INCOMING RODENT QUARANTINE (IRQ)
It is widely accepted that the
greatest risk to established colonies is in the introduction
of animals from outside sources. With
the increased distribution of animals between academic institutions
the risk becomes intensified because the health status of exporting
colonies is not equivalent; certain colonies exclude pathogens
that others do not, and colony health monitoring and maintenance
programs may vary widely between institutions.
A program of
incoming rodent quarantine seeks to minimize the risk to UCSF
colonies
by excluding specific pathogens, determining the actual the
health status of incoming animals at the time of arrival, exclude
unhealthy
animals, identify animals more suitable for rederivation
than introduction and thereby protect the health of UCSF colonies
in general. To follow are the major policies regarding the
IRQ program at UCSF.
Click here to view the complete Guidance
Document. Animals that do not require Incoming Rodent Quarantine
(may
directly enter colonies)
- Animals from Approved Vendors
- To acquire an animal from
an approved vendor, the Investigator should contact
the LARC business office to place an order per
the currently approved procedure.
Click here
for the procedures and form.
- Animals from other UCSF barrier facilities
- To transfer an
animal between UCSF barriers, the Investigator should
obtain, complete and submit the “Barrier to Barrier
Transfer” form from the LARC website. Click here
for the procedures and form.
- Animals from UCSF colonies under
Provisional Quarantine or Pathogen Quarantine are
not eligible for transfer. LARC veterinary
staff should be consulted in these cases.
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Animals that may be considered for Incoming
Rodent Quarantine:
-
Animals from non-approved rodent vendors or institutions with “clean” health
records.
- The exporting institution will be asked to
provide a description of the colony and husbandry practices
at the room of origin.
- Currently, health records must include
data on the following pathogens:
- Mice: MHV, Sendai, PVM, Parvo,
GD VII, MVM, M. pulmonis, Ectromelia, Reovirus, LCM,
P. pneumotropica, endo- and
ecto-parasites
- Rats: SDAV, Sendai, Parvo, RCV,
PVM, GD VII, M. pulmonis, P. pneumotropica,
endo- and ecto-parasites
- Animals shall be separated by gender for shipping
by the exporting institution
- Pregnant animals should not be shipped
- Veterinary staff will evaluate the health record
of each proposed import and determine eligibility for incoming
quarantine
- Click here to access the procedure and form.
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Animals excluded
from Incoming Rodent Quarantine:
- Animals for whom health records are incomplete or
missing
- Animals from institutions or vendors with current
infections
- Animals from institutions or vendors with a history
of recurrent or uncontrolled infections
- Veterinary staff will evaluate the health record
of each proposed import and determine eligibility for incoming
quarantine
Animals
excluded from Incoming Rodent Quarantine may be accepted
to UCSF on the condition that they are rederived prior to entry
into UCSF colonies.
- Such animals will be evaluated on a case-by-case
basis by veterinary staff and discussed with the importing
Investigator.
- Currently such animals are accepted only to Mission
Center Building (MCB), and only on the condition that they
be
rederived.
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Quarantine Rooms
- PSB – 2 rooms (5 racks, 350 cages total)
- Mt Zion – 1 room (2 racks, 196 cages total)
- Genentech
Hall – 1
room (2 racks, 320 cages total)
- Rock Hall – 1 room (4 racks, 720 cages total)
- SFGH – 1 room (1 rack, 98 cages total)
- Gladstone – 1 room (1 rack, 160 cages total)*
Gladstone only
Scheduling
- Racks will receive animals for 1 – 2 weeks prior
to start date
- Investigators may request “first available” quarantine
or schedule their shipment to arrive at their home
campus (based on schedule)
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Quarantine Interval & Testing Schedule
- Length of IRQ (no pathogens identified) is approximately
9 weeks (63 days) which includes 2 week “receiving period” during
which the unit accepts animals
- Day 0: Open unit to
receipt of approved animals
- Day 14: Close unit,
begin sentinel bedding exposure
- Day 35: First sentinel bleed
- Day 45: Receive first sentinel
results
- Day 49: Second
sentinel bleed and parasite screen
- Day 63: Receive second sentinel results
- Day 63: Veterinary
review of data and release of quarantine, if appropriate
Investigator Access for Manipulations
and
Breeding during Quarantine
- Prohibited during quarantine period
- Written requests
for exceptions should be directed to veterinary staff
for evaluation on a case-by-case basis (be sure
to provide adequate detail and scientific justification)
- Allowed exceptions
should be pre-scheduled with husbandry supervisor
and be accompanied by LARC staff
- LARC staff time will
be billed at current rates
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Reaction
to Positive Screening during Quarantine Period
- Test results and actions will be relayed to affected
Investigator, and unit of quarantine if deemed appropriate
- Action plan will be determined by veterinary staff,
depending on pathogen(s) identified
- Treatment options will be determined by veterinary
staff in consultation with Investigator and my include:
- Additional
testing
- Transfer of affected animals to MCB for rederivation
- Culling of affected
animals
- Increased length of quarantine
- Test results will be communicated to shipping institution
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Prophylactic
Parasite Treatment during Quarantine
- Pinworms: Fenbendazole feed (150 ppm) during entire
quarantine period
- Fur Mites: Moxidectin treatment - 2 doses, 10 - 12 days apart
- Tropical Rat Mites: Permethrin cotton balls placed
in cages weekly
Modifications to Quarantine Program
(scheduling,
testing, treatment, access)
- Requests should be directed in writing to veterinary
staff
- Be sure to provide adequate detail and scientific
justification)
- Approved modifications affecting routine LARC duties
will billed at current rates
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PROVISIONAL QUARANTINE
Occasionally testing of sentinel animals
will return a “preliminary” or
unconfirmed positive result for an excluded rodent
pathogen. The situation may also arise where an excluded
pathogen
is detected in a colony which has exported animals to other
rooms at UCSF.
In these or similar situations, rooms may be placed
under Provisional
Quarantine pending confirmatory testing.
During Provisional
Quarantine, the principles of containment and isolation
will apply. No treatment
measures or culling of animals will be initiated
until confirmation is received. Procedures to specific to each
room and situation
will be communicated to involved Investigators
and will be posted at each affected room. In all situations,
however,
the following
principles will apply.
- Movement of animals will be restricted.
- No animals
should be received into the room.
- If animal receipt is
already in progress, husbandry managers at each facility
will make arrangements for
animals to be received into a different area.
- No animals
from the affected room should be transferred to other UCSF
colonies or shipped to outside
institutions.
- If possible, breeding should be suspended
until confirmatory testing is received.
- Personnel access will be
restricted
- Only personnel performing essential functions
should enter the room.
- The quarantined room should be
the last room entered on any given day.
- Personnel entering the
quarantine room shall not return to any other rodent room
or colony
on the
same day.
- Containment
measures will be instituted.
- Personnel entering
the quarantined room should don a second set of PPE.
- Strict
attention to proper microisolator technique should be
observed.
- Disinfection/decontamination
measures specific to the suspected pathogen will be posted
in the room.
- The second set of PPE should
be removed before exiting the room, and discarded
into the waste
receptacles provided
in
each room.
- Veterinary staff should be consulted with any questions
or specific requests.
- For a list of rooms currently
under Provisional Quarantine.
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PATHOGEN
(OUTBREAK) QUARANTINE Outbreaks of excluded pathogens
may be detected by direct testing of sentinel or colony animals.
In
the case of
an outbreak,
LARC veterinary staff will establish and direct
the treatment plan specific to the pathogen involved.
Testing,
containment
and treatment plans will be communicated to affected
Investigators as well as be posted in the rooms.
During Pathogen Quarantine,
the principles of containment and isolation,
and decontamination will apply. Treatments are available
for some pathogens,
and will be communicated to Investigators. In some
instances, no
treatment is available and culling of animals
may be the best course of containment. LARC veterinary
staff
will be available
for consultation regarding specific Pathogen
Quarantine situations. Regardless
of the pathogen involved, the basic principles
of quarantine will apply. Specific measures will
be posted
at affected
rooms, but the following measures tend to be appropriate
for most pathogen outbreaks:
- Movement of animals will be restricted.
- No animals
should be received into the room.
- If animal receipt is already
in progress, husbandry managers at each facility will
make arrangements for
animals to be received into a different area.
- No animals from
the affected room should be transferred
to other UCSF colonies or shipped to outside
institutions.
- In most cases, breeding should be suspended
as it only serves to provide a continuous
source of
naive
animals
to amplify
the infection.
- Personnel access will be restricted
- Only personnel
performing essential functions should enter the room.
- The
quarantined room should be the last room entered on any
given day.
- Personnel entering the quarantine
room shall not return to any other rodent room or colony
on the
same day.
- Containment
measures will be instituted.
- Personnel entering
the quarantined room should don a second set of PPE.
- Strict
attention to proper microisolator technique should be
observed.
- Disinfection/decontamination measures specific
to the suspected pathogen will be posted
in the room.
- The second set of PPE should
be removed before exiting the room, and discarded
into the waste
receptacles provided
in
each room.
- Treatment measures will be determined by LARC veterinary
staff and communicated to affected investigators.
- Veterinary
staff should be consulted with any questions or specific requests.
- For
a list of rooms currently under Pathogen
Quarantine.
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