Types of Housing

Conventional:

  • Most animals at The University at Buffalo are housed conventionally. Animals are housed in open caging feed water bedding and caging components are not autoclaved prior to use. Rodents will have their cages, water, and feed changed on a weekly basis more often if the situation requires it, wet cages or feed etc. Caging components and water bottles and stoppers are sanitized prior to use.



  • Mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters are all housed on direct bedding in plastic caging. Rabbits, Ferrets, birds, and chinchillas are housed in cages with indirect bedding. The bedding or papers are changed 2-3 times per week, and the cages are sanitized once every 2 weeks. Large animals such as swine are housed in pens on suspended flooring. The pens are cleaned on a daily basis.

Specific Pathogen Free

    This is a general term that means the animals are free of certain defined organisms. We are capable of housing many species Specific Pathogen Free or (SPF) rabbits, mice and in some cases swine are the only species that are housed in this fashion.

    RABBITS

    • The organisms excluded from our rabbit SPF area are:
      • Viruses
      • Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus
      • Myxomatosis
      • Bacteria, Mycoplasma and Fungi
      • Bordetella bronchiseptica
      • CAR Bacillus
      • Clostridium piliforme
      • Helicobacter bilis Helicobacter hepaticus Helicobacter spp
      • Pasteurella multocida Pasteurella pneumotropica
      • Salmonella spp
      • Toxoplasma spp
      • Treponema cuniculi
      • Parasites
      • Ectoparasites Endoparasites
      • Enteric Protozoan
      • Encephalitozoon cuniculi
    • SPF rabbits are obtained only from a vendor that meets this health profile; vendor’s animals that do not meet this profile are excluded from The LAF. New animals are quarantined and their health status verified prior to introduction with the established colony.

    MICE

      Mice that are SPF are housed in a separate facility in the Biomedical Research Building. Special precautions are taken to keep these animals SPF and special training is required prior to being allowed to enter the facility.

    • The organisms excluded from our mouse SPF facility are:
      • Viruses:

        Ectromelia Virus, Hantaan Virus, Lactic Dehydrogenase Elevating Virus, Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCM), Minute Virus of Mice Mouse, Adenovirus type 1, Mouse Adenovirus type 2 (K87), Mouse Cytomegalovirus, Mouse Hepatitis Virus, Mouse Parvovirus, Mouse Polyoma Virus, Mouse Rotavirus (EDIM), Mouse Thymic Virus, Murine Norovirus, Pneumonia Virus of Mice, Respiratory Enteric Virus III (REO 3), Sendai Virus, Theiler’s Murine Encephalomyelitis Virus (TMEV, GD7)


      • Bacteria, Mycoplasma and Fungi:

        CAR Bacillus, Helicobacter bilis, Helicobacter hepaticus,Helicobacter spp, Mycoplasma pulmonis.


      • Parasites:

        Ectoparasites, Endoparasites.

      Most of these organisms are also excluded from our conventional facility, the exception being any Helicobacter species.

      Caging: Mice are housed in specialized caging and are either

      • Static: housed in a static micro-isolator cage



      • Or in an IVC (individually ventilated cage) on a special rack that delivers HEPA filtered air to each cage.

      Change Frequency: All cages, feed, bedding, water and bottles are autoclaved prior to use. Cages, feed and water are changed once a week more often if required.

    SWINE

      SPF swine are housed in a separate room from conventional swine with a dedicated animal care technician using this SOP http://www.research.buffalo.edu/laf/resources/sop/1B8.pdf

    • These agents are excluded from our SPF swine colony:
      • Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus
      • Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia
      • Mycoplasma hypopneumoniae
      • Sucking Louse
      • Burrowing mite
      • Porcine Pseudorabies Virus
      • Brucella abortus

Biosafety Level II

    Rodents that are injected with pathogenic organisms that are classified as either Biosafety Level I (BSL1) or Biosafety Level II (BSLII) or human tissues must be housed in the Biosafety area located on the third floor of the Biomedical Education Building (BEB). Special precautions are taken to ensure the health of the animals and the safety of personnel working with these organisms and the animal care staff. Special training and enrollment in the Occupational Health and Safety Program with special emphasis given to the organism (s) being used by the individual is required.

    Animals are housed in micro-isolator cages with corn cob bedding. Cages, feed bedding and water bottles are changed once per week. Animals are handled and cages are always opened inside of a biosafety cabinet.

Quarantine

    The LAF has a quarantine facility to house animals, mice and rats that are being shipped from approved non commercial sources, such as another university or research institute. Animals that have a clean health report, i.e. a report that demonstrates that the animal and the facility do not harbor any of the organisms on our excluded list may be housed until their health status has been confirmed.

    Animals are housed in static micro-isolator caging on corn cob bedding and are changed in a bio-safety cabinet. Standard feed and non autoclaved water in bottles are used for these animals. The cages are autoclaved prior to being washed in our cage wash facility to prevent possible transmission of disease. Access to the facility is restricted and requires special training and the permission of the Director or Clinical Veterinarian. On any day this would be the last area that anyone could enter within the LAF.