The University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Department of Comparative Medicine

Scientists involved in various research projects depend on the validity and reproducibility of data. In order to obtain valid and reproducible results, animal health assessment programs must be in place to minimize certain risk factors. These programs serve to reduce microbial and parasitic agents, as well as environmental factors that could interfere with research. The Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM), is continuously engaged in assessing the health of animals before and during their experimental use through our quarantine and sentinel monitoring programs.

The purpose of our quarantine program is to access the health of newly arrived animals before they are introduced into established specific pathogen-free (SPF) colonies within our animal housing areas. The purpose of our sentinel monitoring program is continued assessment of the health of animals maintained and undergoing experimental use.

Sentinel animals are placed in animal rooms along with experimentally valuable animals to serve as a sensitive marker or indicator to detect viral, bacterial, and parasitic agents that could result in drastic measures such as sacrificing of a few to depopulation of an entire colony. During weekly cage changes, dirty bedding is randomly selected from several cages of other animals within the colony and placed into the sentinel’s cage. Monthly bleedings of sentinels are then performed to detect sero-conversion of animal to viruses such as MHV, MPV, or an organism such as Mycoplasma within the colony.

The staff of the Department of Comparative Medicine is determined to provide quality laboratory animal management practices through our quarantine and sentinel monitoring programs. The DCM is committed to the UT, Memphis scientific community in its endeavors to promote healthy animals used in biomedicial research.
 

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