Hygiena 2019, 64(3):105-111 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1720

Microbiological monitoring of laboratory mice environment in a barrier experimental facility

Tomáš Svoboda, Vladimír Špelina, Petr Petráš, Veronika Horová, Radek Šerý, Jana Vrkoslavová

Státní zdravotní ústav, Praha, Česká republika

Aim: The health status of laboratory animals affects their suitability for research, therefore it is important that each facility with laboratory animals has its own program of animal quality control. The source of the infection, however, may not only be the laboratory animals, but also on infiltration agent from the outside environment. In the framework of the animal biosecurity concept, microbiological monitoring of the environment is carried out in many foreign animal facilities. The aim of our work was to evaluate how the above-mentioned microbiological monitoring of animal environment may contribute to the Animal Health Quality Control Program.

Methods: Over a period of 3 years, through swabs from the surfaces of the monitored sites, we evaluated the hygienic condition of the laboratory mice (inbred strain BALB/c) after sanitation. We have focussed not only on breeding containers and their accessories, but also on predilection sites where they come into contact with supplied material and entering personnel. Furthermore, we have monitored the composition of the microflora in breeding vessels after their week-long settlement with the inbred strain of BALB/c mice. The obtained results were confronted with results obtained from the swabs of visible mucous membranes from both live and sacrificed mice of the same strain and the results obtained by microbiological examination of organs after autopsy. Independent microbiological examination of mice was provided by an external facility.

Results: Our results show that microbiological examination of swabs after sanitation of breeding cages, their lids and selected predilection sites in the animal room has demonstrated satisfactory efficacy of our sanitation procedures. Microbiological examination of swabs from used breeding vessels has shown consistency with the results achieved in both live and sacrificed mice and the absence of bacterial pathogens that can cause serious human and animal diseases.

Conclusion: The results have confirmed our intention to include the use of swabs from laboratory mice and swabs from their visible mucous membranes in our animal health control program with the potential to reduce the number of sacrificed mice without compromising integrity during experiments.

Keywords: laboratory animals, health status, microbiological monitoring, environmental sanitation

Received: June 2019; Accepted: July 28, 2019; Published: August 20, 2019  Show citation