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Feeding
All laboratory animals should receive food that is
- Palatable
- Free from contamination and
- Balanced and of sufficient quantity and nutritive value to maintain their good health
They should be fed at least once on daily basis except under justified circumstances e.g. on veterinary treatment or pre-procedural fast. Specific diets should be selected based on the needs of each species. They should also be provided with clean drinking water regardless of the type of food supplied .
Food should be provided in receptacles that are accessible to all animals in a cage or pen and placed to minimize contamination. Food
receptacles should be easily cleaned and sanitized
Hygiene
In a laboratory animal facility, there are generally four definable and achievable levels of hygiene:
- Cleaning: The complete removal of all visible soil from a surface.
- Sanitization: The process by which the number of bacteria and other organisms living on inanimate objects is reduced enough to prevent disease. Sanitization does eliminate all microorganisms, but is aimed at reducing total numbers of organisms.
3.Disinfection: A more intense form of sanitation which is designed to reduce to a harmless level the number of a specific type of organism, specifically pathogenic organisms (but not necessarily spores), on an object.
- Sterilization:The process of rendering an object very free of all living organisms, including spores.
The food and water troughs, bottles and other pieces of equipment should be cleaned and regularly disinfected to keep them contamination-free.
Waste Disposal
Research animal facilities generates a significant amount of waste, in fact, such animal waste together with their soiled bedding are considered under medical waste, hence they require more stringent disposal procedures . This waste must be removed and disposed away on regular basis.
Waste containers should be readily accessible throughout the facility and should be leak-proof and equipped with tight-fitting lids. If waste must be stored while awaiting disposal, the storage area should be outside the animal holding and clean equipment areas. Animal carcasses and tissues require a separate cold storage area and regularly scheduled removal
Disposal methods, including, burying, incineration and removal to landfill. Hazardous waste, including carcasses of animals exposed to radioactive or biohazardous agents, must be adequately sterilized and/or contained prior to removal and disposal.
Sourcing of laboratory animals
Most laboratory species are bred and raised for a specific purpose. Healthy animals of known microbiological status are acquired for experimental procedures. These animals must be sourced from a well a certified control source. Animals from less controlled sources, such as the wild, may harbor pathogens transmissible to both man and other species.
Animals that are deliberately infected with pathogens should be held in isolation at the appropriate animal containment site and in accordance with the recommendations described by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens of 1984.