Search

The exchange of fish for research may expose an aquatic laboratory to pathogen contamination as incoming fish can introduce bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses capable of affecting both experimental results and fish and personnel health and welfare. To develop risk mitigation strategies, FELASA and AALAS established a joint working group to recommend good practices for health monitoring of laboratory fish. The recommendations address all fish species used for research, with a particular focus on zebrafish (Danio rerio). First, the background of the working group and key definitions are provided. Next, fish diseases of high impact are described. Third, recommendations are made for health monitoring of laboratory fishes. The recommendations emphasize the importance of daily observation of the fish and strategies to determine fish colony health status. Finally, report templates are proposed for historical screening data and aquatic facility description to facilitate biohazard risk assessment when exchanging fish.

FELASA and AALAS established a joint working group to advise on good practices for the exchange of fish for research. In a first manuscript, the working group made recommendations for health monitoring and reporting of monitoring results. The focus of this second related manuscript is biosecurity in fish facilities. First, we define the risk of contamination of personnel by zoonotic pathogens from fish or from system water, including human mycobacteriosis. Preventive measures are recommended, such as wearing task-specific personal protective equipment. Then we discuss biosecurity, highlighting the establishment of biosecurity barriers to preserve the health status of a facility. A functional biosecurity program relies on integration of the entire animal facility organization, including the flow of staff and animals, water treatments, and equipment sanitation. Finally, we propose 4 steps for introducing new fish colonies: consideration of international trade and national restrictions; assessing risk according to fish source and developmental stage; establishing quarantine barriers; and the triage, screening, and treatment of newly imported fish. We then provide 3 realistic sample scenarios to illustrate practical biosecurity risk assessments and mitigation measures based on considerations of health status and quarantine conditions.

International audience; Health monitoring is a crucial aspect of the management of any research animal house. RESAMA is a network strong of 60 academic and private partners acting in France since the end of 2012. The network aims to increase awareness of animal caretakers and researchers on health management issues in facilities holding aquatic model species (zebrafish, Xenopus, medaka, Mexican tetra). To do so, each partner research facility will be visited at least once. The visiting team is composed at least of one veterinarian and one zootechnician specialized in aquatic species. The visit results in a health-monitoring assessment of the facility, which includes a sampling for histo-pathological, bacteriological, and molecular pathogen detection. During the visit, rearing practices are also reviewed through an interview of animal caretakers. However, the present report essentially focuses on the health-monitoring aspect. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide a network-wide picture of health issues in aquatic facilities. Performed in parallel, the rearing practice assessment will ultimately help to establish rational relationship between handling practices and animal health in aquatic facilities. The study is still in progress. Here, we describe the results to be drawn from an analysis of the 23 facilities that had been visited so far. We sampled 720 fish and 127 amphibians and performed a little less than 1400 individual tests.