DETECTION OF PARVOVIRUS IN A SENTINEL ANIMAL REPLACEMENT TRIAL IN HEALTH MONITORING USING SOILED BEDDING SWABS FROM EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS HOUSED IN VENTILATED CABINETS
Keywords:
Replacement, Refinement, Mice, Health ControlAbstract
Laboratory animals are exposed to infection by a variety of pathogens that are widely recognized as adverse factors in biomedical research. According to international regulations, these microorganisms must be absent from experimental rat and mouse colonies. Experimentation with sentinel animals exposed to contaminated bedding from experimental mice is the most common method for sanitary monitoring in animal facilities. Although environmental sampling is being explored and, in many cases, has been implemented as an alternative, sampling of exhaust air from ventilated cabinets (IVCs) is not effective in controlling all pathogens that must be excluded from animals used in trials. Among the murine viruses present in mouse colonies, the Minute Virus of Mice (MVM) stands out. This virus belongs to the Parvoviridae family and is considered highly prevalent in mouse colonies and a contaminant of some virus stocks and transplantable tumors. Like all parvoviruses, the dependence of MVM replication on functions modulated by cellular proliferation, differentiation, and transformation indicates that the virus requires dividing cells to replicate. Replication occurs in various organs such as the pancreas, small intestine, lymphoid organs, liver, and kidneys. This virus is shed and transmitted through feces and urine, where it can persist for several weeks. In this experiment, PCR tests were evaluated for the detection of MVM in swabs placed on contaminated bedding in sentinel cages in an IVC for sanitary monitoring in laboratory mouse colonies. All samples tested positive for MVM. The implementation of swabs can be used to replace the use and slaughter of sentinel animals and establish a sanitary monitoring program for prevalent pathogens in production and research vivariums.
