Risk-based immunization policies and tuberculosis screening practices for animal care and research workers in the United States: survey results and recommendations.

A national survey was conducted to assess immunization practices and tuberculosis screening methods for animal care and research workers in biomedical settings throughout the United States. Veterinarians (n = 953) were surveyed via a web-based mechanism; completed surveys (n = 308) were analyzed. Results showed that occupational health and safety programs were well-developed, enrolling veterinary, husbandry, and research staff at rates exceeding 90% and involving multiple modalities of health assessments and risk communication for vaccine-preventable diseases.

Transmission probabilities of mouse parvovirus 1 to sentinel mice chronically exposed to serial dilutions of contaminated bedding.

Intermittent serodetection of mouse parvovirus (MPV) infections in animal facilities occurs frequently when soiled bedding sentinel mouse monitoring systems are used. We evaluated induction of seroconversion in naïve single-caged weanling ICR mice (n = 10 per group) maintained on 5-fold serially diluted contaminated bedding obtained from SCID mice persistently shedding MPV1e. Soiled bedding from the infected SCID mice was collected, diluted, and redistributed weekly to cages housing ICR mice to represent chronic exposure to MPV at varying prevalence in a research colony.

Intussusception in canine recipients of hematopoietic cell grafts and surgical correction.

Intussusception is a common complication after canine hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The present study was undertaken to evaluate predisposing factors of intussusception and to test whether intussusception can be managed surgically during the period immediately after HCT. We determined the incidence of intussusception after HCT was performed in 325 canine recipients (autologous, n = 43; allogeneic, n = 282) during the interval from January 2002 to May 2005.

Use of multigeneration-family molecular dog leukocyte antigen typing to select a hematopoietic cell transplant donor for a dog with T-cell lymphoma.

Case Description: A 7-year-old Golden Retriever was examined because of anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, and gradual weight loss.

Clinical Findings: Splenomegaly, pancytopenia, high serum calcium concentration, and high alkaline phosphatase activity were detected. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enlarged mesenteric lymph node and increased signals from the bone marrow of the ilium and vertebral bodies.

A national survey of laboratory animal workers concerning occupational risks for zoonotic diseases.

In this cross-sectional survey of laboratory animal workers in the United States, 23 of 1367 persons reported 28 cases of infection with zoonotic agents from research animals at their workplace during the past 5 years, with six persons indicating that their infections were medically confirmed. Based on these data, the annualized incidence rate for work-related transmission of zoonotic agents from laboratory animals was 45 cases per 10,000 worker-years at risk (95% confidence interval, 30 to 65 cases), approximating the rate for nonfatal occupational illnesses in the agricultural production-livestock industry and for those employed in the health services during 2002. Logistic regression analysis found various characteristics of persons and their employers that were significantly associated with the likelihood of having been medically evaluated for exposure to a zoonotic agent from laboratory animals.

Zoonoses of occupational health importance in contemporary laboratory animal research.

In contemporary laboratory animal facilities, workplace exposure to zoonotic pathogens, agents transmitted to humans from vertebrate animals or their tissues, is an occupational hazard. The primary (e.g.

A primer in epidemiologic methodology.

Epidemiology is defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of disease within populations. In addition to the requirements for disease surveillance, epidemiologic methods have numerous applications in laboratory animal science and can reveal important insights into the multifactoral mechanisms of disease, thereby aiding in the design of optimized intervention strategies. Observational approaches to data collection can be used to quantify the role of causal factors under natural circumstances, complementing the value of experimental studies in this field.

Multivariable regression analysis and other findings from the 1999 joint ASLAP/ACLAM economic survey of laboratory animal veterinarians.

Results from a 1999 economic survey of laboratory animal veterinarians were used to develop a multivariable linear regression model capable of predicting income in light of a large set of characteristics of veterinarians and their employers. When considered simultaneously, the variables of experience, supervisory responsibility, ACLAM board certification, geographic region, type of employer, size of animal facility, and job title provided the best model fit, in agreement with an earlier statistical model of income for persons in this profession. Aspects of the demographics of faculty appointments and secondary sources of professional income available to some laboratory animal veterinarians also were evaluated.

Detection of feline herpesvirus 1 DNA in corneas of cats with eosinophilic keratitis or corneal sequestration.

Objective: To determine whether feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) DNA is in the corneas of clinically normal cats and cats with eosinophilic keratitis or corneal sequestration.

Sample Population: Corneal biopsy specimens obtained from cats referred for treatment of corneal sequestration or eosinophilic keratitis.

Procedure: Corneal scraping or keratectomy specimens collected from clinically normal cats, cats with eosinophilic keratitis, and cats with corneal sequestration were evaluated for FHV-1 DNA by use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Retrospective case-control study of hepatozoonosis in dogs in Israel.

Signalment, clinical signs, and physical examination and clinicopathologic findings in dogs diagnosed with Hepatozoon canis parasitemia (n = 100) were compared with those in Hepatozoon-negative dogs (n = 180). A subset (n = 15) of Hepatozoon-positive dogs with unusually high (> 800 H canis gametocytes/microL of whole blood) parasitemia was compared with dogs that had low parasitemia (n = 85) and with Hepatozoon-negative dogs (n = 180). Hepatozoon-positive dogs significantly differed from Hepatozoon-negative dogs in body temperature, total red blood cell count, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, and platelet count.

Effects of valacyclovir in cats infected with feline herpesvirus 1.

Objective: To determine whether orally administered valacyclovir can be used safely and effectively to treat cats with primary, feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) infection.

Animals: 14 specific-pathogen-free adult cats.

Procedure: Cats were infected with FHV-1 strain 87-727 (300 microliters, 10(7) plaque-forming units/ml) by ocular and nasal inoculations, and were treated every 6 hours with dextrose (controls) or valacyclovir (60 mg/kg of body weight, PO).

High sensitivity polymerase chain reaction assay for active and latent feline herpesvirus-1 infections in domestic cats.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed and used to detect feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) in conjunctival and oropharyngeal swabs, and in latently infected tissues (trigeminal ganglia, optic nerves, optic chiasma, olfactory bulbs and corneas) collected from 10 experimentally infected cats. There was good agreement between parallel tests of the swab specimens by PCR and virus isolation assay during the phase of acute, latent and recurrent disease episodes (kappa = 0.63, P < 0.

Effect of a live attenuated intranasal vaccine on latency and shedding of feline herpesvirus 1 in domestic cats.

A prospective study was conducted that evaluated duration of virus shedding through acute and experimentally-induced recurrent disease episodes in 12 cats, and tissue distribution of latent infections, following intranasal vaccination with a temperature sensitive (ts) mutant strain of feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV1). Six of these cats were challenged with a virulent field strain of the agent to assess the extent to which vaccination affected subsequent shedding of virus and the establishment of latent infections. Virus isolation (VI) tests were done in parallel with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to compare the performance of each diagnostic method.

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction assay for molecular epidemiologic investigation of Pasteurella pneumotropica in laboratory rodent colonies.

After an episode of clinical Pasteurella pneumotropica infection was diagnosed in a C57BL/6N mouse, a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction assay (RAPD-PCR) was developed and used to genetically characterize and differentiate 52 field isolates and laboratory reference strains of P. pneumotropica and related bacteria. A survey of rodents in the facility recovered 36 isolates of P.

Efficacy of various therapeutic regimens in eliminating Pasteurella pneumotropica from the mouse.

Pasteurella pneumotropica, a gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, can be isolated from the oropharynx, intestinal tract, and reproductive tract of clinically normal mice and has been associated with various clinical syndromes, including conjunctivitis, infections of the reproductive tract, otitis, and subcutaneous abscess formation. Enrofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone bactericidal antimicrobial, has been shown to be effective in eliminating P. multocida from rabbits.

Serological evidence for zoonotic hantaviruses in North Carolina rodents.

In a survey of seven species of wild rodents (n = 423) collected between October 1993 and March 1994 from the three principal ecological biomes of North Carolina (USA), we found hantavirus antibodies in seven (2%) of 301 Peromyscus spp. Hantavirus antibodies were detected in P. leucopus and P.

Risk of venereal B virus (cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) transmission in rhesus monkeys using molecular epidemiology.

The importance of venereal modes of B virus (cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) transmission was evaluated in 49 rhesus monkeys tested at necropsy. Antibodies to B virus were demonstrated in 19 monkeys, but no active viral shedding was detected in mucosal swabs collected at death. The polymerase chain reaction demonstrated presence of the ICP 18.

Zoonotic hantaviruses; new concerns for the United States.

Hantaviruses have emerged as agents of significant morbidity and mortality in human beings. These pathogens are maintained in nature as not clinically apparent, persistent infections in roden reservoirs, varying with each virus, and are shed via rodent feces, urine, and salivary excretions. Human exposure to hantaviruses principally occurs through the respiratory tract route and is focal and discontinuous, paralleling the distribution of virus in reservoir species and the likelihood of human-rodent interactions.