Chapter 1 : Animal Housing and Pathogen Surveillance

Abstract:

In the past 40 years, remarkable progress has been made in laboratory animal housing systems, both conceptually and technically. This chapter provides investigators with a brief overview of common housing options available for pathogen exclusion or containment. For barrier housing, some structural modification at the equipment, at the cage, rack, room, and/or building level, is incorporated to protect animals from adventitious infection. Pathogen surveillance is an important component of animal research. Data derived from animal subjects may be altered by unwanted pathogens. The chapter presents an overview of health surveillance systems to provide investigators with a knowledge base on which to build discussion with the laboratory animal veterinarian. The laboratory animal veterinarian is an excellent source of information concerning pathogen surveillance, diagnostic methodologies, and appropriate responses when pathogens are detected. Traditional methods of pathogen detection have included serologic, microbiologic, and pathologic methods. The chapter describes a number of sampling strategies that have been developed for animal health surveillance. Animal-housing systems and husbandry practices have improved tremendously during the past several decades. While this is particularly true for rodent housing, significant advances have also occurred in the housing of larger species. Despite these improvements, unwanted pathogens remain a threat to the research program, and in the case of zoonotic agents, to human health. Therefore, animal health surveillance programs continue to be important and fundamental components of the research effort.