Rodent Quality Assurance Monitoring Program
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Rodent Quality Assurance Monitoring Program |
Introduction of Rodents from Non-Commercial Sources
BackgroundThe highest risk for introducing infection into a rodent colony is through the introduction of live animals. Every time rodents are introduced into the Yale colonies it puts the resident rodent population at risk. These risks are cumulative. The inadvertent introduction of even a single infected animal could cause a disease outbreak which could result in lost time, in lost research data, etc. Clearing an introduced pathogen may take years. However, without the introduction of new animals most of the current research would not be possible. It is therefore necessary to minimize the risk by thorough screening of the health status of all incoming animals. Most rodents are purchased from commercial vendors, which routinely screen their colonies. YARC maintains a list of approved vendors. Animals from these sources can be introduced directly into the animal rooms. Please check with Animal Procurement for details. Due to the explosive increase in transgenic and knockout mouse strains over the past few years and the rise in national and international collaborations, a growing number of rodents (mostly mice) are being introduced from non-commercial sources. These would include other universities, research institutions or small biotech companies. While most of them maintain a health monitoring program similar to that here at Yale, they usually do not maintain closed colonies and they do not have a financial interest in providing only high quality animals. To assure that no unwanted organisms are introduced along with these animals YARC keeps them in quarantine until the health status of every single shipment is confirmed. ProcedureThe procedure to introduce animals from non-approved sources consists of the following steps: 1. Request Form For each animal shipment a Request to Introduce Rodents must be submitted. The request form is found on-line and must be submitted electronically. If multiple shipments from the same source are expected please submit a request for each shipment. This is necessary because each group is tested and evaluated separately and is assigned a unique number to avoid confusion. Please fill out the form completely, all information is necessary for completion of the introduction. You will receive a confirmation by Email to acknowledge the receipt of the request. 2. Charges As of July 1, 2006, a $112 Import Fee will be implemented. This charge will partially defray administrative costs. Your PTAEO will be billed at the time the request is APPROVED (which happens after receipt of a health report), regardless of whether the animals are ever actually received and regardless of whether the animals are intended for acute or chronic use. In addition, the usual procurement fee ($2 per mouse or rat) will be assessed when the animals arrive. 3. Health Report To determine the necessary quarantine procedure a health report from the institution of origin must be obtained. This can be done by the investigator directly (through the sending investigator). The health reports should be faxed to 203-785-7612 or Emailed to rodent.qa@yale.edu. YARC can also obtain the health report directly from the veterinarian at the institution of origin. In that case the name and e-mail address of the veterinarian must be provided on the request form. Some institutions (like Yale) require the sending investigator to formally request a health report (usually by submitting a form). In these cases YARC may not be able to request the health report directly. The sending investigator usually knows about this. 4. Approval Once both the request form and the health report have been submitted the request is
processed usually within 24 hours. The investigator is notified of approval by e-mail.
Copies of this e-mail will also go to the YARC Animal Receiver and to the shipping contact
at the sending institution (if an Email address was provided). 5. Shipping Arrangements Once an introduction request has been approved the YARC Animal Receiver will contact the shipping contact at the other institution to make arrangements for the shipment. The investigator will be informed as soon as the animals arrive at Yale. The investigator should inform the sending investigator not to have the animals shipped before the introduction request has been approved. For safety reasons all non-approved shipments will be returned to the sender. International shipments need to be accompanied by a health certificate (Guidelines for writing an acceptable health certificate). The sender should fax the YARC Animal Receiver a copy of the airbill AND the health certificate as soon as the animals are shipped. Advanced customs clearance for the animals can then be arranged to avoid delays at the airport. QuarantineOnce the animals arrive at Yale they will be placed in quarantine. Access to quarantine is limited and special arrangements should be made if you need to observe or work with the animals prior to their release. Quarantine procedure differs widely based upon the health status of the colony of origin and the use of the animals here at Yale: Standard Quarantine Procedure Most groups will undergo the standard quarantine procedure. On arrival the animals are tested for pinworms and mites (by feeding fendbendazole-medicated feed and treating with ivermectin) and sentinel animals are placed in the same cage to maximize exposure. The animals are housed in individually ventilated cages under BSL 2 conditions to exclude transmission of infections between the different quarantine groups. After 3 weeks the sentinels are removed, necropsied and samples are submitted for pathology, microbiology/parasitology and serology for all relevant rodent pathogens (list of agents). This examination usually takes about 3 weeks. Total duration of quarantine for a clean group is 6-8 weeks. If biotechnology services are needed, they are billed at the usual YARC technical services rate of $75/hour. Available services include dosing, bleeding, etc. Quarantine hours are 8-12 and 1-4 on weekdays. Investigators requiring after-hours or weekend access to the animals must arrange it in advance, and will be billed for technician time to provide access at the overtime rate of $112.50/hour. A minimum of two hours will be charged for after-hours services if arrangements are made by a deadline of noon Wednesday. After this deadline, weekend access will be scheduled at the discretion of the quarantine staff, and will be charged a minimum of 4 hours. (Please note that this last policy reflects the Local 34 union requirement for a 4-hour minimum for unscheduled overtime). Acute Use If animals will be used acutely in quarantine within a few weeks after arrival, no quarantine process will be started. Acute use animals are intended to be used within 6-8 weeks. These animals will not be released from quarantine. Access to quarantine is limited and special arrangements should be made if you need to observe or work with the animals, or if you wish to use them directly from quarantine. Generally a startup-meeting is required in which the intended procedure is discussed in the context of protecting the Yale colonies from pathogens. If the investigator decides later to keep these animals quarantine process will start at that moment. The duration will also be 6-8 weeks, starting from that time point (provided the animals prove to be clean). Fees for technical services and after-hours access are outlined above. In rara instances, arrangements may be reuested to transport animals from Quarantine for acute use in the lab. In this case, a minimum of 15 minutes technical service time will be billed to transfer animals to or from transport cages. Rederivation Animals infected with undesirable rodent pathogens need to be rederived. Rederivation procedures depend on the pathogen involved and may include treatment with antimicrobial agents, burning out of acute infections or embryo transfer. Once the animals have been determined to be free of relevant pathogens the investigator is informed and the animals are moved to the investigator's animal room. Definitions
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