Veterinary Care

Introduction

The RARC veterinary staff consists of 4 veterinarians and 5 veterinary technicians.

 

Information on Expired Drugs

What if I find a sick animal?

Rodent Health Monitoring

Veterinary Services

Veterinary Policies

 

What if I find a sick animal? What if I have a question about an animal's health?

The veterinary staff will make rounds each day during normal business hours.  If you have an animal that you would like them to check, please submit the information using the Sick Animal Reports Form.  Please remember to tell us the species, the room where the animal is housed, its identification, and a brief description of the problem.

The staff will check the animal the next time they make rounds and render an opinion and/or prescribe treatment.

If animals need immediate attention contact the main office at 263-6466 and have the veterinary staff paged. Evenings, weekends, and holidays call the paging center at 262-2122 and have the veterinarian "on call" paged. The veterinarian will call you back at the phone number you leave with the paging center.

 

Treatment of a sick animal must be under the direction of the laboratory animal veterinarian unless the condition and treatment is described in the protocol. Even if the researcher is able to diagnose and treat the condition, the veterinarian must be informed about the condition and concur with the proposed treatment plan. This is required by regulations.

 

Veterinary treatment of clinical conditions is done with investigators' knowledge and concurrence, provided they can be contacted in a timely way. Investigators should ensure their work and after hours phone numbers are posted appropriately.

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Rodent Health Monitoring

 

Mice and rats are routinely screened for common viral infections and parasites. Results are posted on the room doors using a letter designation system.

 

Screening is done on a quarterly basis by room. Investigators who need more frequent testing, a specific agent tested, or specific animals tested may request this, but the extra costs will be charged to the investigator. Contact any of the veterinary staff to make these requests.

 

Unexpected illness or deaths in a rodent colony should be reported to the veterinary staff. They will investigate and perform laboratory and/or post-mortem examinations to reach a diagnosis, if appropriate.

 

 

Veterinary Services

 

1. Breeding colony management and rederivation services

The veterinary technical staff can assist researchers with management of rodent breeding colonies and provide technical services for rederivation of rodent lines. Contact vetstaff@mailplus.wisc.edu for information.

 

2. Anesthesia, surgical and procedural training and support

The veterinary staff can provide assistance with animal handling techniques and with anesthetic and surgical procedures for all research animal species. Contact vetstaff@mailplus.wisc.edu for information.

 

3. Protocol pre-review

RARC veterinarians can pre-review animal use protocols prior to submission to the protocol office. Contact Debbie Morris in the protocol office, who can put you in contact with an RARC veterinarian (morris@rarc.wisc.edu).

 

4. Rodent quarantine options

The RARC veterinary staff coordinates with LAR to oversee quarantine space on campus that may be used for the temporary housing of animals from non-approved vendors that are disease-free based on serology. For further information contact an RARC veterinarian

 

5. Equipment sanitization

Research equipment moving into ‘A-level’ specific pathogen free (SPF) facilities requires thorough disinfection. The veterinary staff can provide direction and assistance to investigators who need to disinfect research equipment for movement to ‘A’ facilities or who wish to have their equipment sanitized for any reason. For further information contact an RARC veterinarian.

 

 

Veterinary Policies

1. Compliance with Veterinary Directives

Veterinary directives to investigators (euthanasia orders, directions for treatment of animals, etc.) must be carried out by the time indicated by the RARC veterinarian. The veterinary staff will notify laboratories of directives via the contact information provided by the investigator. RARC veterinarians are always available to consult with investigators and answer questions regarding clinical directives. If directives are not carried out by the prescribed time, the veterinary staff will euthanize the animal or begin treatment of the animal at the discretion of the clinical veterinarian; such action can result in the researcher being billed for veterinary technical time at 15-minute increments at approximately $40.30/hr. The ACUC may also be notified of non-compliance incidents.

2. Serology Results

Serology results of sentinel animals are obtained quarterly. A single confirmed positive result from a sentinel animal will result in the entire room being considered positive for the pathogen. This policy exists because:

• Disease presence in a room is considered greater than what sentinel serology results suggest. This is because of:
• Intermittent shedding of pathogens from infected animals
• Differences in pathogen dose that sentinel animals receive via dirty bedding
• Varying serologic conversion rates of sentinel animals
• Investigators frequently move cages from rack-to-rack within a room because of breeding strategies or re-assignment of animals to study protocols. This movement makes it difficult to accurately isolate where disease presence may be in a given room based on results from individual sentinels.

 Room serology results will be provided to animal care supervisors and lead workers each quarter. If determined by RARC veterinarians to be an effective mechanism to help contain pathogen spread, individual-rack sentinel results may be obtained from the veterinary staff if requested by LAR; under some circumstances, such information may be used by veterinary and LAR staffs to help understand and control disease spread.

3. Rodent pathogen control
   
   Letter designation system for containment of disease
   
   

4. Animal room procedures and policies

   1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

   To protect against exposure to possible zoonotic agents and to help control/contain animal pathogens, all PPE requirements posted for animal rooms must be followed. Please make note of postings in different locations, as PPE requirements may vary by room or facility.

   2. Extraneous noise in animal rooms

   The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (1996) states: “Radios, alarms and other sound generators should not be used in animal rooms unless they are part of an approved protocol or enrichment program.”
      As per action by the SMPH Animal Care and Use Committee, radios and other sound generators are therefore not permitted to be used in animal rooms unless it is part of an approved protocol or enrichment program. Research and animal care staffs are permitted to use personal music devices that use headphones or earbuds. It is suggested that personal music devices not be worn in Bio-Safety Level 2 rooms. Use of such devices is prohibited in BSL-3 areas.