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Routine microbiological monitoring of rodent colonies in animal facilities is essential to evaluate the health status of the animals used in research studies. In the present study, animals were examined for the presence of selected microbial infections. In order to determine the contamination rates of mice and rats in Argentina, animals from 102 conventional facilities were monitored from 2012 to 2016. The most frequent bacteria isolated were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus spp. The common parasites identified were Syphacia spp. and Tritrichomonas spp. Serological assays demonstrated the highest prevalence for Mouse hepatitis virus in mice and Sialodacryoadenitis virus in rats. The results indicate that there is a high incidence of infections, so it is suggested that an efficient management system and effective sanitary barriers should be implemented in conventional facilities in Argentina in order to improve sanitary standards., (Copyright © 2019 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The Kilham rat virus (KRV) is a parvovirus originally isolated from a rat sarcoma in the late 1950s. The clinical signs associated with a natural KRV infection include foetal resorption in dams, runting, ataxia, cerebellar hypoplasia and jaundice in suckling rats, and sudden death, scrotal cyanosis, abdominal swelling and dehydration in juvenile rats. The ability of this virus to produce persistent infections has resulted in a high frequency of contamination of cell cultures and transplantable-tumor system. In addition, the virus may interfere with research in other ways. The remarkable resistance to environmental conditions determines the importance of the detection and control of this agent, especially in the laboratory animal production. This study determines the seroprevalence of Kilham antibodies from sera of adult rats from conventional facilities, using the haemagglutination inhibition test. The seroprevalence varied between 27.8% and 75%. This result confirms that the virus is circulating in Argentinean conventional facilities and might be interfering with research. The recognized Kilham virus may be prevented from supply sources by implementing a health monitoring schedule including a regular serological surveillance, and by keeping the animals under barrier systems.