JAX® Mice Health Reports Revised
JAX® NOTES Issue 505, Spring 2007
We have recently revised the Animal Health Reports for JAX® Mice. The revised reports are more user-friendly and provide additional information about our facilities, the significance of the agents we monitor, and our policies regarding those agents.
At the top of each report a Summary indicates the health status of a mouse room at a glance by the designations excellent, superior, or good. Excellent means that none of the organisms listed in the report are present. Superior means that pathogens, parasites, and opportunists are absent but that other organisms of interest are present. Good means that though opportunists are present, and other organisms may be present, pathogens and parasites are absent. Each Summary also indicates a mouse room's number, biosecurity barrier level, and whether the room is located in a Production, Research, or "Other" area (an area that houses small production-type colonies maintained as in-house resources or sources of lower-demand mice). The mouse rooms supporting investigations by The Jackson Laboratory research staff (most of whom are funded by peer-reviewed grants) are completely separate from those that produce JAX® Mice.
Following the Summary section of each report are detailed lists of the organisms we monitor. The first section, Mouse Pathogens, lists organisms considered as either pathogenic or having a significant documented potential for interfering with research. If we were to find any of these organisms in a mouse room, we would suspend shipments of mice from that room and notify customers. The list is subdivided into 1) Viruses and 2) Bacteria and Mycoplasma. These agents are found on the "A" group detailed in our policy on Health Status Communications.
The second section, Parasites, lists organisms that, for the most part, have limited potential for causing significant disease or for interfering with research. Because they are unacceptable in most facilities, they are included in the A group, and, if we were to find any of these organisms in a mouse room, we would suspend shipments of mice from that room and notify customers.
A third section, Opportunistic Organisms, includes agents that we will eliminate as soon as possible. However, when these organisms are found in a mouse room, we do not suspend shipments from that room. These agents are generally recognized opportunistic pathogens that may participate in disease processes or interfere with research under certain circumstances, such as debility associated with genetic or environmental factors. However, these organisms typically cause no problems in normal healthy mice. They tend to be part of a mouse's normal flora, infect multiple species (including humans) or are found in the inanimate environment. Their elimination from mouse colonies is particularly challenging.
The fourth and final section is reserved for organisms that are non-pathogenic or viewed as normal flora. We do not eliminate these organisms and do not suspend shipments from a mouse room where they are found. We periodically review the status of these organisms and may change our policy with respect to them should a change be warranted and feasible.
More details are available by visiting our Web site. Here you will find the List of Agents Monitored, details of actions to be taken in the event of an outbreak (JAX® MICE Health Status Communication Policy), an Overview of the Jackson Laboratory Facility Barrier Levels, and other topics related to animal health.
We hope you find these changes helpful, and we welcome your comments and suggestions for improvements.
