Length is 2-3 weeks after the arrival of the animals.

Animals are housed in designated quarantine rooms and samples (feces, fur swabs, may include blood samples) are collected for testing of excluded agents. The timeframe may be extended for animals imported from high-risk external institutions.

Access to quarantine rooms is restricted to comparative medicine resources assigned staff.

Breeding of animals is not permitted while animals are in quarantine for import or export.

Once negative results for excluded agents are received and approved by a veterinarian, the animals can be released into the main housing facility.

Any positive animals must be used terminally in quarantine under the direction of veterinary staff, be rederived by embryo transplantation and documented free of disease, or euthanized.

Costs of services: All quarantine costs and planning will be reviewed and approved by the PI or designee prior to importation of animals. PI or designee is responsible for the costs accrued during quarantine.

Managing risk involves the following steps:

1. First and most importantly, the appropriate design and operation of facilities and use of appropriate safety equipment (engineering controls). Biological safety cabinets are the primary method for protecting our animals. Animals are maintained in micro-isolator caging and cages are opened within biological safety cabinets in most facilities.
2. Second, the development of processes and standard operating procedures.
   • Rutgers aims to prevent the introduction of pathogen through screening of health reports prior to importation and performing a comprehensive quarantine procedure for imports.
   • Certain facilities maintain a specific room entry order. See below for more information.
   • A comprehensive health monitoring program is employed at Rutgers to test regularly for common rodent pathogens.
   • Trained staff monitor the animal cages daily for signs of disease.
3. Finally, the proper use of PPE protects the animals from disease transmission. PPE is supplied in all animal facilities and must be used according to the posted signage. Do not reuse disposable PPE. PPE is the last line of protection.

Shoe covers do not improve (and may compromise) bio-exclusion. Donning of shoe covers offers a potential for contamination of personnel from contact with shoe bottoms.

Many facilities at Rutgers have rooms that exclude Mouse Norovirus (MNV) and Helicobacter. You may see a specific color on the door indicating the health status of the room.

For example, if you enter a room positive for MNV and Helicobacter, you may not enter a room negative for MNV and Helicobacter that day.

Rooms with a higher exclusion level of pathogens must always be entered first. Please contact the responsible facility supervisor if you have additional questions.

Rooms that have a positive testing result may be moved to enter last status. This will be documented on the door, and you may not enter other animal rooms after that one.

Routine Exhaust Air Dust (EAD) testing is performed for ventilated caging involving filter media placed in the exhaust air plenum. Every three to four months after placement, the filter media is submitted to a testing laboratory (Charles River Laboratories) for PCR analysis of excluded agents.

For racks without exhaust air duct filters, plenum swabs or cages with media and dirty bedding (Pathogen binders/ shake boxes) are used. Testing of these racks is also conducted every three to four months.

Routine health monitoring testing is performed 3 times per year. Annually, a more comprehensive panel of pathogen screening is performed.            

CMR research staff and affected PIs are notified when a room has tested positive for an excluded pathogen. An updated room entry order and/or quarantine may be placed on all affected rooms. Confirmatory testing is performed. Affected animals may be treated, re-derived or euthanized for prevention of disease spread, on a case-by-case basis.

Mice – MPV 1-5 (Mouse Parvovirus), MVM, MHV (Mouse Hepatitis Virus), TMEV (Theiler’s Encephalomyelitis Virus), EDIM (Epizootic Diarrhea of Infant Mice), SEND (Sendai Virus), PVM (Pneumonia Virus of Mice), REO (Reovirus), MPUL (Mycoplasma pulmonis), LCMV (Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus), MAV (Mouse Adenovirus), Ectro (Ectromelia Virus), HANT (Hantavirus), Poly (Polyomavirus), MuCPV/MKPV (Murine Chapparvovirus/Mouse Kidney Parvovirus), C. bovis (Corynebacterium bovis), mites, pinworms.

Rats – Rat parvoviruses (RPV, H-1, KRV, RMV), SDAV (Sialodacryoadenitis virus), RTV (Theilovirus), SEND (Sendai virus), PVM (Pneumonia Virus of Mice), REO (Reovirus), MPUL (Mycoplasma pulmonis), LCMV (Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus), HANT (Hantavirus), mites, pinworms

Helicobacter spp. and MNV, and RRV (Pneumocystis/PCAR) are excluded from some colony rooms.

These lists are subject to change based on veterinary discretion based on pathogen prevalence.

GESR = Genome Editing Shared Resource: provides expertise and assistance in the development and production of genetically modified mouse models that can serve as in vivo models for addressing a wide variety of biological questions.

https://research.rutgers.edu/animal-care/genome-editing-shared-resource-gesr

The GESR offers line rederivation, genotyping, IVF, cryopreservation, and other services.