New infections to be considered in health monitoring of laboratory rodents

Abstract

In 1994 the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations issued guidelines for health monitoring in breeding colonies of rodents and rabbits recommending specific agents, test methods and sampling sites for each species. Today most commercial breeders in Europe perform health monitoring, which as a minimum fulfils the standards of the FELASA guidelines. Laboratory animal science and microbiology are, however, rapidly developing fields, which has made a revision necessary; a process, which is going on at the moment. This paper describe rodent infections, which need consideration in a revised set of guidelines. The infections considered are Helicobacter, Campylobacter, Haemophilus, Cilia associated respiratory bacillus and orphan parvovirus in rats and mice, as well as adenovirus, cardiovirus and parainfluenzavirus in guinea pigs. Some of these agents were mentioned but not recommended for mandatory screening in the guidelines, some have not been as easily accepted as part of health monitoring schedules as other agents, while some were not, at all, included in the guidelines.