Guidance on disease management in UW-owned animals (companion to policy UW-4094)
Disease management in laboratory animals
Routine health monitoring (e.g., serology, parasite checks, PCR) of sentinel or colony animals is a vital part
of disease management.
Veterinarians must approve all sources of animals.
Research personnel must move cages between animal rooms, labs, and/or facilities according to
veterinarian-approved procedures, e.g. always move from “cleanest” areas to “less clean”
areas.
Users must disinfect procedure rooms, lab space, or shared equipment after each use.
Users must always wear the required personal protective equipment. There are signs at the entrance to facilities
and sometimes to individual rooms that will tell you what you must wear.
Cell lines, tumors, hybridomas, sera, etc., should be tested by PCR for disease organisms before these materials
are given to animals.
Principal investigators must describe nonstandard housing, feed, bedding, and environmental enrichment in the
animal use protocol. A research animal veterinarian must approve how each of these materials is disinfected or
sterilized before use. Anything not described in approved facility standard operating procedures is considered
“nonstandard.”
Disease management in livestock
Routine health monitoring (e.g., serology, parasite examinations, PCR) of herds and flocks is a vital part of
disease management.
Each unit should have biosecurity policies that are approved by the research animal veterinarian. These should
describe:
animal movement within and between units
quarantine
specific infectious disease screening and control
new livestock disease screening
an off-campus/foreign animal disease control measures (e.g., how long after foreign travel must people stay
out of campus animal areas)
Users must always wear the required personal protective equipment.
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