VMD 511: Animal Welfare, Ethics and Jurisprudence (2+0)

QUARANTINE, STABILIZATION AND SEPARATION

• Quarantine is the separation of newly received animals from those already in the facility until the health and possibly the microbial status of the newly received animals have been determined. An effective quarantine minimizes the chance for introduction of pathogens into an established colony. A minimum duration of quarantine for small lab animals is one week and larger animals is 6 weeks (cat, . dog, monkey, etc.)
• Effective quarantine procedures should be used for non-human primates to help limit exposure of humans to zoonotic infections.
• Regardless of the duration of quarantine, newly received animals should be given a period for physiologic, psychologic and nutritional stabilization before their use. The length of time stabilization will depend on the type and duration of animal transportation, the species involved and the intended use of the animals.
• Physical separation of animals by species is recommended to prevent interspecies disease transmission and to eliminate anxiety and possible physiological and behavioral changes due to interspecies conflict.
• Such separation is usually accomplished by housing different species in separate rooms; however, cubicles, laminar-flow units, cages that have filtered air or separate ventilation, and isolators shall be suitable alternatives.
• In some instances, it shall be acceptable to house different species in the same room, for example, if two species have a similar pathogen status and are behaviorally compatible.