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Using Sterile Flocked Swabs as an Alternative Method for Rodent Health Monitoring.

Mynn Michelle D Varela1, Jan Irving A Bibay2, Bryan E Ogden3

  • 1Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore; SingHealth Experimental Medicine Centre, Singapore Health Services, Singapore;,

Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS
|June 28, 2022
PubMed
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Sterile flocked swabs effectively replace sentinel mice for routine health monitoring in SPF rodent colonies. This method accurately detects enzootic pathogens and fur mites, aligning with animal research ethics.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary diagnostics
  • Animal health monitoring
  • Laboratory animal science

Background:

  • Routine health monitoring is crucial for SPF rodent colonies.
  • Environmental sampling methods are evolving, but some are incompatible with specific housing systems.
  • Sentinel rodents have been used but raise ethical concerns regarding animal use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate sterile flocked swabs as an alternative to sentinel mice for routine health monitoring in mice.
  • To assess the efficacy of flocked swabs in detecting enzootic pathogens and fur mites.
  • To determine the diagnostic agreement of flocked swabs with other monitoring methods.

Main Methods:

  • Sterile flocked swabs were exposed to soiled bedding in mouse cages for 90 days.

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  • Fecal samples were collected from colony and sentinel mice.
  • Environmental samples (exhaust debris, dust) were also collected.
  • All samples were tested for pathogens using real-time PCR assays.
  • Diagnostic agreement was analyzed using kappa statistics.

    • Main Results:

    • Flocked swabs showed excellent agreement with colony feces for pathogen detection.
    • The sterile flocked swab method successfully identified all enzootic pathogens.
    • Flocked swabs detected fur mites, which sentinel feces failed to identify.
    • Agreement between flocked swabs and sentinel feces was the least favorable.

    Conclusions:

    • Sterile flocked swabs are a viable alternative to sentinel mice for routine health monitoring.
    • This method aligns with the principles of reducing and replacing animal use in research.
    • Flocked swabs offer a reliable and comprehensive diagnostic tool for rodent health surveillance.