Abstract
Dear Editor,
The joint AALAS–FELASA Working Group on Health Monitoring of Rodents for Animal Transfer has published its recommendations for harmonized health monitoring formats for the international transfer of rodents in the Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS). 1 This publication is available from the JAALAS website as a free download (https://www.aalas.org/publications/jaalas).
The rise of the use of genetically-modified rodents in research and the intensification of international collaborations have seen a corresponding rise of shipments of animals around the world. Although there are fewer restrictions on shipment of cryopreserved rodent germplasm, not all institutions have the capacity to either easily generate germplasm from desired mice or to reconstitute germplasm into live animals. Thus, live rodents are still being moved internationally and this has necessitated close attention to animal health and animal health reporting. The working group was formed to establish a consensus on minimum health monitoring recommendations and presentation formats to contribute towards the protection of animal welfare and to facilitate the transfer process.
The consensus formats for mice and rats presented by this working group are more detailed than those suggested by the FELASA working group on health monitoring. 2 The working group has provided a list of agents in order to create a standardized health report. The presence or absence of an agent on this list should not imply that facilities should or should not test for that agent. Each institution must define which agents are acceptable or not under certain conditions or for specific experiments or animals, but standardizing the reporting of agents will help both receiving and shipping institutions to better understand the microbiological status of animals being shipped. The proposed formats are accompanied by instructions and an example of how to complete them.
Both FELASA and AALAS hope that the proposed health monitoring report formats will make a significant contribution to the harmonization of reporting on the health status of mouse and rat colonies worldwide. We encourage its use by our colleagues all over the world.
On behalf of the working group members,