Abstract
Health monitoring is an integral part of laboratory animal quality standards. However, current or past prevalence data as well as regulatory requirements dictate the frequency, type and the expanse of health monitoring. In an effort to understand the prevalence of rodent pathogens in India, a preliminary study was carried out by sero-epidemiology. Sera samples obtained from 26 public and private animal facilities were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against minute virus of mice (MVM), ectromelia virus (ECTV), lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), Sendai virus (SeV), and Mycoplasma pulmonis in mice, and SeV, rat parvo virus (RPV), Kilham’s rat virus (KRV) and sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV) in rats, by sandwich ELISA. It was observed that MHV was the most prevalent agent followed by Mycoplasma pulmonis and MVM in mice, and SDAV followed by RPV were prevalent in rats. On the other hand, none of the samples were positive for ECTV in mice, or SeV or KRV in rats. Multiple infections were common in both mice and rats. The incidence of MHV and Mycoplasma pulmonis was higher in facilities maintained by public organizations than in vivaria of private organizations, although the difference was not statistically different. On the other hand the prevalence of rodent pathogens was significantly higher in the northern part of India than in the South. These studies form the groundwork for detailed sero-prevalence studies which should further lay the foundations for country-specific guidelines for health monitoring of laboratory animals.
Highlights
The suitability of an animal species for a specific experiment is dictated by the physiology of the animal [1]
The serum samples were analyzed for the presence or absence of antibodies against for minute virus of mice (MVM), ectromelia virus (ECTV), lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), Sendai virus (SeV), and Mycoplasma pulmonis in mice, and SeV, rat parvovirus (RPV), Kilham’s rat virus (KRV) and sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV) in rats, by sandwich Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) [15], using commercial kits (XpressBio Life Science Products, Thurmont, MD, USA), as per instructions provided by the manufacturer
The incidence of Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) was high (46.92%), and this was followed by Mycoplasma pulmonis (22.30%) and Minute virus of mice (MVM) (13.84%)
Summary
The suitability of an animal species for a specific experiment is dictated by the physiology of the animal [1]. Pathogens of laboratory rodents cause subclinical infections which can influence physiological and pharmacological parameters, potentially influencing the interpretation and outcome of experiments conducted on such animals [2], [3]. Several microorganisms are known to influence the function of various organ systems, affecting normal physiological.
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