When new rodents are introduced into the animal facilities at the University of Missouri, there is an inherent risk of introducing pathogens into the resident rodent population. The highest risk for introducing infection into a rodent colony is through the introduction of live animals from non-approved vendors. Every time rodents are introduced into the MU colonies it puts the resident rodent population at risk. The inadvertent introduction of even a single infected animal could cause a disease outbreak, which could result in lost time, lost research data, and need for expensive eradication efforts. Removing 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. OAR maintains a list of approved vendors. Animals from these sources can be introduced directly into the animal rooms.

The increase in transgenic and knockout mouse strains available for research over the past few years and the rise in national and international collaborations have resulted in a growing number of rodents being introduced from non-commercial sources. These would include other universities, research institutions or biotech companies. While most of them maintain a health-monitoring program similar to that of MU, many do not. To assure that no unwanted organisms are introduced along with these animals OAR keeps them in quarantine until the health status of every single shipment is confirmed.

1. Request Form

For each animal shipment a Request for Animal Purchase/Housing form must be submitted. The request form is found on-line and may 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 e-mail to acknowledge the receipt of the request. A current approved MU ACUC protocol number must be present on every Request for Animal Purchase/Housing before animals can be ordered. In most situations, the time from when a Request for Animal Purchase/Housing is submitted until the animal shipment is approved for shipment to MU is two weeks.

2. Charges

Animal housing during the quarantine period is charged at the “quarantine” per diem rate. These charges are billed to the MO code account identified on the Request for Animal Purchase/Housing on the 30th of each month. The Office of Animal Resources pays for the cost of sentinel monitoring for animals in quarantine.

3. Health Report

To determine the necessary quarantine procedure, a health monitoring report from the institution of origin must be obtained. The investigator can initiate this directly. The health reports should be faxed to (573)-884-4345 or e-mailed to DehavenC@missouri.edu. OAR can also obtain the health report directly from the veterinarian at the institution of origin. In that case the name and telephone or e-mail address of the facility veterinarian must be provided on the request form.

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 shipping contact at the sending institution (if an e-mail address was provided).

The approval will list the quarantine process required for this group.

5. Shipping Arrangements

   Once a Request for Animal Purchase/Housing has been approved, the OAR staff 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 MU. 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.

Most groups will undergo the standard quarantine procedure. On arrival, the animals are transported into the quarantine facility and housed in cages under BSL 2 conditions to exclude transmission of infectious agents. A physical examination as well as a “tape test” to detect evidence of pinworms is performed on each shipment as they are transferred to their quarantine cages. Two (2) sentinel animals are placed with each shipment. After 5 weeks, a sentinel is removed, and submitted to RADIL, were it is necropsied and samples are submitted for histopathology, microbiology, parasitology and serology for all relevant rodent pathogens. This examination usually takes about 2 weeks. Total duration of quarantine for a clean group is ~7 weeks. Rodents will routinely be fed fenbendazole-medicated feed during the quarantine period.

If technical services are required during the quarantine period (DNA collection, dosing, bleeding, etc), they are billed at the usual OAR technical services rate of $18.55 /hour. If an investigator requires access to their animals during the quarantine period, arrangements should be made in advance with the Medical School Animal Facility Manager (Jane Robinson, 882-8492). Investigator access to quarantine rooms is limited to between the hours of 8am-11:30am and 1:00pm-4:30pm Monday through Friday. Once an investigator or their staff has been in a quarantine room, they will not be permitted into another animal room that same day. They are therefore encouraged to enter quarantine rooms late in the day were there is less risk of them inadvertently entering another animal room.

Quarantine Procedure for Animals Known to be Infected with a Pathogen: Animals that are known to harbor pathogens will either be treated or rederived to eliminate the pathogen(s) in question prior to entering the quarantine period. Investigators wishing to import animals known to be infected should contact the OAR veterinary staff for a more detailed description of the quarantine program and a list of additional costs that may be incurred to bring these animals through the quarantine process.

Approved commercial vendors - Currently the list of approved rodent vendors for the Office of Animal Resources includes the following: Charles River Breeding Laboratories, Harlan Sprague Dawley, Hilltop Lab Animals, Jackson Laboratories, National Cancer Institute, Frederick Cancer Research & Development Center, Sasco, and Taconic.

Health report - Report on the health monitoring of a rodent colony is usually obtained by periodic testing of sentinel animals placed into an animal room. Ideally it includes viral serology, microbiology and parasitology. The health report reflects the health status of an entire colony not necessarily of individual animals. Not to be confused with a health certificate which is based on the clinical examination of an animal or a small group of animals.

Non-approved source - Usually a non-commercial research institution, university, or biotech company, which is not on the list of, approved vendors. Some approved vendors maintain contract breeding colonies for research institutions. Sometimes these colonies are housed separate from the commercial colonies. In this case they are considered non-approved sources (e.g. research colonies at Jackson Laboratories).

Copyright ©2007 Office of Animal Resources
Contact us for more information. (573)882-3111