Transcript LATG: A Review of The Guide for the Care and Use of

LATG:
A Review of
The Guide for the Care and
Use of Laboratory Animals
Created by
Marc S. Hulin, DVM, Dipl. ACLAM
History of The Guide
 First published in 1963; 6th revision
 Current revision was written by ILAR
 Purpose: assist institutions in caring for and
using animals in ways judged to be
scientifically, technically, and humanely
appropriate
 6th edition was supported by NIH, USDA, and
Dept. VA
Introduction
 Laboratory Animal: any vertebrate animal
used in research, teaching or testing
 Guide endorses: 9 US Government
principles, AWA, PHS policy, other federal
and state laws
Evaluation Criteria
 Performance standards preferred over
Engineering standards

performance: define an outcome in detail and
provide criteria for assessing the outcome, but
don’t limit methods to achieve outcome
 “Must”: considered imperative
 “Should”: strong recommendation
I. Institutional Policies and
Responsibilities
 IACUC membership:
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DVM with lab animal experience
1 practicing scientist with research experience
with animals
1 public member (non-affiliated)
 Physical restraint:

use of manual or mechanical means to limit
animal’s movement for examination, collection
of samples, or drug administration
Physical Restraint
 Prolonged restraint should be avoided unless
it is essential for research objectives and
approved by IACUC
 Guidelines:
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not to be considered normal methods of
housing
restraint period should be minimum time
animal should be trained
regular observations
veterinary care provided if lesions or illness
Multiple Major Surgical
Procedures
 Major surgery:

penetrates and exposes a body cavity or
produces substantial impairment of physical or
physiologic function
 Multiple major surgeries on a single animal
are discouraged unless:
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scientifically justified
approved by the IACUC
related components of a research project
conserve scare animal resources
Food or Fluid Restriction
 If experimental protocols require restriction at
least minimal quantities of food and fluid
should be available
 Restriction for research purposes should be
scientifically justified
 Highly preferred food or fluid as positive
reinforcement, instead of restriction, is
recommended
Veterinary Care
 Adequate veterinary care must be provided,
including access to all animals for evaluation
of their health and well-being
 Veterinarian must provide investigators with
advice on use of sedatives, analgesics, or
anesthetics in animals
Personnel Qualification & Training
 Personnel caring for animals should be
appropriately trained and the institution
should provide for formal or on-the-job
training to facilitate effective implementation
of the program and humane care and use of
animals
 Occupational Health and Safety program
must be part of the overall animal care and
use program
Preventative Medicine for
Personnel
 Development and Implementation of a
program for medical evaluation should
involve input from trained health
professionals
 Cercopithecine Herpesvirus 1 (Herpes B
virus):

personnel who work with Macaques should
have access to and be instructed in the use of
bite and scratch emergency kits
Animal Environment, Housing,
Management
 Proper housing and management:

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Animal well-being
Quality of research data
Health and safety of personnel
 Animals should be housed with goal of
maximizing species-specific behaviors and
minimizing stress induced behavior
Micro vs. Macroenvironment
 Microenvironment:

physical environment immediately surrounding
it, i.e. primary enclosure, food, wire bar lid,
sipper tube.
 Macroenvironment:

the physical environment of the secondary
enclosure, such as a room, barn, or an
outdoor habitat
 Linked by ventilation between primary and
secondary enclosure
Primary Enclosures
 Should be constructed with materials that
balance the needs of the animal with the
ability to provide sanitation
 Solid-bottom caging, with bedding, is
recommended for rodents
Space Recommendations
 Based on professional judgment and
experience
 Thigmotactic: rodent species benefit more
from wall space (stay along the walls in
cages)
 Animal must have enough space to turn
around and express normal postural
adjustments
 Social animals should be housed in pairs or
groups
Space Recommendations
 Cage height:
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Mice: 5 inches
Rats: 7 inches
Hamsters: 6 inches
Guinea pigs: 7 inches
Rabbits: 14 inches
Cats: 24 inches
Space Recommendations
 Floor space:
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Dogs:
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<15 kg: 8.o sq. ft.
15-30 kg: 12.0 sq. ft.
> 30 kg: 24.0 sq. ft.
Monkeys:
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Groups 1-7 (including baboons)
Apes (Pongidae): Groups 1-3
Brachiating species cage height should be when
fully extended, swing from cage ceiling without
feet touching the floor
Temperature and Humidity
 Regulation of body temperature within normal
variation is necessary for the well-being of lab
animals
 Relative humidity should be controlled to the
acceptable range of 30-70%
Dry Bulb Temperatures
 Mouse, Rat, Hamster, Gerbil, Guinea Pig:

64-790 F
 Rabbit:
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61-720 F
 Cat, Dog, NHP:
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64-840 F
 Farm animals & Poultry:

61-810 F
Ventilation
 Supply adequate oxygen; remove thermal
loads caused by animals and equipment
 Use of computer modeling for designing
facility ventilation (computational fluid
dynamics)
 10-15 fresh-air changes per hours for
secondary enclosures is general standard
 Recycled vs. Non-recycled air
Illumination
 Light can affect the physiology, morphology,
and behavior of various animals
 Lighting should provide sufficient illumination:
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
for well-being of the animals
allow good housekeeping practices
 Time-controlled lighting system should be
used to ensure a regular diurnal cycle
Illumination
 Light levels of 325 lux (30 ft-candles) about
1.0m above the floor appear to be sufficient
for animal care and do not cause signs of
phototoxic retinopathy in albino rats
 Light at cage level for animal susceptible to
phototoxic retinopathy should be between
130-325 lux
Noise
 Noisy animals (dogs, swine, etc.) should be
housed away from quieter animals, such as
rodents, rabbits, and cats
 Noise >85 dB can have both auditory and
non-auditory effects:
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eosinopenia
increased adrenal weights in rodents
reduced fertility in rodents
increased blood pressure in NHP
Behavioral Management
 Structural Environment:
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primary enclosure- cage complexities, cage
furniture, manipulanda
 Social Environment:
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physical contact and communication with
conspecifics (members of same species)
 Activity:
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animals should have opportunities to exhibit
species-typical activity patterns
Husbandry
 Food:
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unused, opened bags of food should be stored
in vermin-proof containers
exposures to temp. > 700 F and humidity
extremes hastens deterioration
dry lab animal diets stored for 6 months after
manufacture
Vitamin C diets- 3 months shelf-life
Stabilized forms of Vitamin C extend shelf life
Bedding
 Untreated softwood shavings and chips are
contraindicated may affect animals’
metabolism
 Cedar shavings are not recommended,
because microsomal enzymes and
cytotoxicity
 Soiled bedding should be removed and
replaced with fresh materials as often as is
necessary to keep the animals clean and dry
Cleaning and Disinfection of
Primary Enclosures
 If animal waste is to be removed by flushing-
at least once daily (animals kept dry during
flushing)
 enclosures and accessories (tops) should be
sanitized at least once every 2 weeks
 Solid-bottom caging, bottles, and sipper tubes
usually require sanitization at least once a
week
Cleaning and Disinfection of
Primary Enclosures
 Effective disinfection can be achieved with
wash & rinse water at 143-1800 F
 Traditional 1800 F for rinse water refers to the
water in the tank or sprayer manifold
 A regularly scheduled and documented pest
control and monitoring should be
implemented
Emergency, Weekend, and Holiday
Care
 Animals should be cared for by qualified
personnel every day, including weekends and
holidays
 Emergency veterinary care should be
available after work hrs., weekends, and
holidays
 A disaster plan that takes into account both
personnel and animals should be prepared as
part of the overall safety plan for the animal
facility
Identification and Records
 Toe-clipping, for identification of small
rodents:
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only when no other method is feasible
performed only on altricial rodents
 Clinical records for individual animals:
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valuable for dogs, cats, NHP
contain pertinent clinical and diagnostic info.
dates of vaccinations, surgery, experimental
use
Veterinary Medical Care
 Adequate veterinary care consists of effective
programs for:
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Preventative Medicine
Surveillance, Diagnosis, Treatment, and
control of disease including Zoonosis
Management of protocol associated disease
Anesthesia and Analgesia
Surgery and Postsurgical care
Assessment of Animal Well-Being
Euthanasia
Veterinary Medical Care
 A veterinary care program is the responsibility
of the attending veterinarian, who is certified
or has training or experience in lab animal
science and medicine
 The veterinarian must provide guidance to
investigators and all personnel involved in the
care and use of animals
Animal Procurement &
Transportation
 All animals must be acquired lawfully
 Dogs and cats from Class B dealers should
be carefully inspected for special
identification markers
 Importation of NHP is regulated by PHS with
specific guidelines for Tuberculin testing
Quarantine, Stabilization, and
Separation
 Effective quarantine program minimizes the
chance for introduction pathogens into an
established colony
 Veterinary Medical staff should have
procedures for evaluating the health and
pathogen status of newly received animals
Quarantine, Stabilization, and
Separation
 Effective quarantine program for NHP:
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limit exposure of humans to zoonotic
infections
filoviral and mycobacterial infections in NHP
have necessitated specific handling guidelines
(CDC)
Newly received animals should be given a
period for physiologic, psychologic, and
nutritional stabilization before their use.
Quarantine, Stabilization, and
Separation
 Physical separation of animals by species is
recommended to prevent interspecies
disease transmission and conflict
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separate rooms
cubicles
laminar-flow units
cages that have filtered air or separate
ventilation
isolators
Quarantine, Stabilization, and
Separation
 Examples of need for separate housing by
species:
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Bordetella bronchiseptica in rabbits- severe
disease in guinea pigs
Simian Hemorrhagic Fever and SIV separate
New World, Old World African, and Old World
Asian
Squirrel monkey latently infected with
Herpesvirus tamarinus which is fatal to Owl
Monkeys
Surveillance, Diagnosis, Etc.
 All animals should be observed for signs of
illness, injury, or abnormal behavior daily
 Unexpected deaths and signs of illness
should be reported promptly for appropriate
veterinary medical care
 The choice of medication or therapy should
be made by the veterinarian in consultation
with the investigator
Surveillance, Diagnosis, Etc.
 Infectious agents that affect research:
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Sendai, KRV, MHV, LCMV, and Mycoplasma
pulmonis
 The principal method for detecting viral
infections is serologic testing
 Transplantable tumors, hybridomas, cell lines,
and other biologic materials should be tested
for murine viruses

MAP (mouse antibody production) test, RAP,
HAP used for monitoring for viral
contamination
Surgery
 Appropriate attention to presurgical planning,
personnel training, aseptic and surgical
technique
 Use of antibiotics should never be considered
as a replacement for aseptic procedures
 PHS policy and AWA place responsibility with
the IACUC for determining that personnel are
qualified and trained for surgery
Surgery
 Major survival surgery:
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penetrates and exposes a body cavity or
produces substantial impairment of physical or
physiologic function
laparotomy, thoracotomy, craniotomy, joint
replacement, limb amputation
Surgery
 Minor survival surgery:
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does not expose a body cavity and causes
little or no physical impairment
wound suturing, peripheral-vessel cannulation,
castration, prolapse repair, skin biopsy
most procedures routinely done on an
“outpatient” basis in veterinary clinical practice
Surgery
 Nonsurvival surgery:
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animal is euthanized before recovery from
anesthesia
does not require aseptic surgery
surgical site should be clipped, wear gloves,
and clean instruments
 Skin sutures, wound clips, or staples:
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must be removed in timely manner
Veterinary medical standard: 10-14 days
Surgery
 Liquid chemical sterilants should be used with
adequate contact times
 Alcohol is neither a sterilant nor a high-level
disinfectant
 Nonrodent aseptic surgery should be
conducted only in designated surgical facility
 PI and veterinarian share responsibility for
ensuring that postsurgical care is appropriate
Pain, Analgesia, and Anesthesia
 Fundamental to pain relief is ability to
recognize clinical signs in specific species:
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vocalization, depression, behavioral changes,
immobility, abnormal posture
“Anthropomorphic concept”
 Neuromuscular blocking drugs do not provide
pain relief:
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paralyzes muscle; animal feels pain but
unable to move
Euthanasia
 The act of killing animals by methods that
induce rapid unconsciousness and death
without pain or distress
 Methods should be consistent with 2000
Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia
 Avoid animal distress:
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other animals should not be present when
euthanasia is performed
Construction Guidelines
 Corridors:
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should be wide enough to facilitate the
movement of personnel and equipment
6-8 ft. wide can accommodate most facilities
 Animal-Room Doors:
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should open into animal rooms
large enough for easy passage of racks and
equipment
42 x 84 inches
Construction Guidelines
 Floors:
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moisture-resistant, nonabsorbent, impactresistant, and smooth
 Drainage:
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if used should be sloped and drain traps kept
filled with liquid
drainpipes should be at 4 inches in diameter
floor drains are not essential in all animal
rooms
Construction Guidelines
 HVAC systems:
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capable of adjustments + or - 20 F
relative humidity: 30-70%
temperature is best regulated by having
thermostatic control for each room
regular monitoring of HVAC system done at
room level
partial redundancy
Construction Guidelines
 Power & Lighting:
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in event of power failure an alternative or
emergency power supply should be available
to maintain critical services
recessed energy-efficient fluorescent light is
most commonly used
time-controlled lighting system should be used
to ensure a uniform diurnal lighting cycle
Construction Guidelines
 Storage areas:
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bedding and food should be stored in separate
area from risk of contamination from toxic or
hazardous
refrigerated storage kept below 70 C to reduce
putrefaction of wastes and animal carcasses
Facilities for Aseptic Surgery
 Rodent surgery:
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small simple; dedicated space in lab; minimize
contamination during surgery
 Large animal surgery:
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surgical support, animal preparation,
surgeon’s scrub, operating room, and
postoperative recovery