Rodent health surveillance using sentinel animals is a critical part of

the preventative health program for most laboratory rodent facilities.

Introduction of animals through a quarantine area is generally one of

the highest biosecurity risk areas in a rodent housing facility. Adequate

health surveillance of animals during the quarantine period is critical

to prevent introducing unwanted microorganisms

Adkins, M.

Baer, J.

Lencioni, K.

Caltech Authors - Main

measure, we modified feeder boxes with a clear acrylic window panel, 
allowing staff to safely inspect the leftover food in the feeder from a 
distance. We also removed redundant feeders on the cages and blocked 
the ports using a smaller version of the plastic guards. Together, the 
panel guards and feeder box windows proved to significantly reduce 
the problem areas frequently encountered by NHP staff. These low-cost 
improvements in the caging allowed for greater ease of staff movement 
between cages and improved safety within the facility. 
P87 Pooled Fecal Floats from Colony Cages Detect Aspiculuris tet-
raptera and Fur Mites 
J Watson* 
Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University, 
Baltimore, MD 
In 2008, our institution treated all mice with 12 wk fenbendazole-
medicated feed and undertook a thorough environmental cleaning 
to eradicate Aspiculuris tetraptera from campus. Treatment exceptions 
were only approved following negative fecal flotation results (1 mouse 
sampled per cage). From 2008 through March 2012, all senfuels at the 
institution (one cage per 70-cage rack exposed to soiled bedding from 
every cage at each cage change, tested and replaced every 4 mo) were 
negative for Aspiculuris spp. by fecal flotation and for fur mites by fur 
pluck. However, in October 2011 histopathology from experimental 
animals revealed intestinal nematodes on cut section. Fecal floats from 
the colony confirmed the presence of Aspiculuris spp. eggs. Seven of 28 
racks from collaborators identified via transfer logs were also positive on 
colony tests. One of the colonies had been exempted from treatment in 
2008. All mouse racks (approximately1000) at the institution were then 
surveyed by colony fecal flotation (CFF) (4 pellets from every cage on 
the rack, pooled in a 30-mL tube, 1 or 2 tubes per rack). Five additional 
racks were identified with pinworms and 5 were identified whh mites 
via characteristic eggs: Myocoptes and Radfordia spp. were confirmed by 
fur pluck. Examination of racks belonging to collaborators of positive 
colonies yielded the most positives compared with mass sampling 
(25% compared with 1%). We suggest that sentinel samples alone are 
insufficient to confirm the absence of Aspiculuris or mite infestations; 
however, pooled fecal samples from colony cages can diagnose both 
Aspiculuris tetraptera and fur mites. 
P88 Benefitting Your Business: Employee Engagement 
KS Jackson*, K Rosell 
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 
In most fields, high employee turnover is costly. It decreases production, 
and causes stress for the remaining employees. According to an article 
published in 1982 in the Journal of Human Resources Strategy, replacing 
a key person can take up to 6 mo, and can offset production for up to 2 
y. Employees who are engaged in their workplace are happier and less 
likely to leave. Employee engagement programs can lead to decreased 
turnover. Turnover is highest in the early stages of the laboratory animal 
technician career. Caring for animals in a research environment can 
take an emotional toll for the caretakers adding stress to an already 
redundant job. Employee engagement opportunities can break the mo-
notony and relieve emotional strain by facilitating human interaction, 
which assists in retaining employees by reducing the effects of other 
job stressors. By allowing laboratory animal technicians to become 
engaged in the process, their valuable input and sense of accomplish-
ment can provide cost saving and refinement for the organization. This 
can substantially reduce attrition. Our institution and the Department 
of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) provide a variety of employ-
ment engagement opportunities. Employees are able to participate at 
different levels of the university in categories ranging among leadership 
(Staff Senate), professional development (Human Resource Classes and 
AALAS meetings and certifications), education (tuition reimbursement), 
and work-lifebalance (flexible schedules and Wellness Lunch and Learn 
series). As with any organization, one of the greatest challenges with 
engagement opportunities is informing employees and encouraging 
Abstracts of scientific papers 2012 AALAS National Meeting 
involvement. This project provides an overview on how employees are 
informed and encouraged to participate in the opportunities offered. 
Participation has led to retaining employees for longer periods of time. 
It has also helped to gain and retain employees with 5 or more years of 
experience in the field of laboratory animal care. If successful employee 
engagement programs are measured by employee retention, then the 
employee engagement programs at our institution and those offered 
within the DLAR can be called successful, thus, worth the investment 
these programs incur. . ' 
P89 Reducing Animal Numbers in a Contact Sentinel Program 
K Lencioni*, MAdkins, J Baer 
OLAR, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 
Rodent health surveillance using sentinel animals is a critical part of 
the preventative health program for most laboratory rodent facilities. 
Introduction of animals through a quarantine area is generally one of 
the highest biosecurity risk areas in a rodent housing facility. Adequate 
health surveillance of animals during the quarantine period is critical 
to prevent introducing unwanted microorganisms. Since it has been . 
shown that some organisms, such as CAR bacillus and fur mites, do 
not transfer well through a dirty bedding sentinel program, contact 
sentinels can be used to increase efficiency of transfer. Female contact 
sentinels are typically used in an effort to prevent fighting with valu-
able imported mice. However, one disadvantage of housing contact 
sentinels in the same cage as quarantined animals is that the female 
contact sentinel may become pregnant. As an exposure time of 3 to 6 
wk is used in most sentinel programs, some facilities have used ovari-
ectomized female mice to prevent this situation. However, ovariectomy 
is an invasive surgical procedure and exposes the mice to potential pain 
and distress. In an effort to prevent pregnancies in contact females, we 
administered a dose of a long-acting progesterone, depot medroxypro-
gesterone acetate, 3 mg/kg per mouse, to each 4-wk-old CD1 contact 
sentinel at least 24 to 48 h prior to placing the female in the cage with 
a male mouse undergoing quarantine. Female contact sentinels were 
co housed with imported animals (that is, breeding pairs) for 6 wk prior 
to testing. After implementing this program, only one female mouse 
has become visibly pregnant during the contact period of a total of 27 
mice, and no unwanted pups have been born. This treatment protocol 
has significantly reduced the number of animals used in our quarantine 
sentinel program by minimizing the production of unwanted pups. 
P90 Staff-Directed Environmental Enrichment Program 
K Koszdiil*, C Pekow, SL Carey, S Varnam, P Davis, K Hamilton, A Porter, 
H Dang, C Domingo, B Villanueva, T Tran, JShaffer 
Animal Research Facility, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care 
System, Seattle, WA 
The eighth edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 
states that the IACUC, researchers, veterinarians, and animal care per-
sonnel should be involved in reviewing and evaluating the institution's 
environmental enrichment program. Our IACUC annually reviews the 
enrichment SOP; however, we wanted to actively include our animal 
care staff in planning and evaluating our environmental enrich.'tlent pro-
gram. We had our staff complete an online environmental enrichment 
training course in addition to courses on the behavioral biology of each 
species we house. Staff members volunteered to write environmental 
enrichment SOP for the various species housed. Staff then devised a 
schedule to rotate enrichment objects in animal rooms to vary the type of 
enrichment the animals received with each cage change. Staff members 
also developed a checklist to complete each time they changed cages, 
to evaluate the use of each enrichment object by the animals. On the 
sheet, they note which environmental enrichment object is in the cage, 
the species and strain of animals in the cage, and if animals are using 
the object in a species-specific manner. We review these check-off sheets 
on a regular basis to assess the effects of our environmental enrichment 
plan to animal wellbeing. In addition, the investigators communicate 
regularly with our staff about which enrichment objects are acceptable 
675 


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