Skip to content | Change text size

Quality Assurance Program

Health Status Reports

Pathology

A comprehensive pathology regime is in place at Monash Animal Services to ensure the quality of our animals is maintained at the highest possible pathogen free standard.

A comprehensive panel carried out by Cerberus Sciences is conducted every six months, this panel includes tests for the following agents

  • MHV - Mouse Hepatitis Virus
  • MVM - Minute Virus of Mice
  • PARV - Parvovirus (rNS1 antigen)
  • ROT - Rotavirus (E.D.I.M.)
  • MNV - Mouse Norovirus
  • CMV - Murine Cytomegalovirus
  • TMV - Theiler's Murine Encaphalomyelitis Virus
  • PVM - Pneumonia Virus of Mice
  • SEN - Sendai Virus
  • PUL - Mycoplasma pulmonis
  • MAD - Mouse Adenovirus type 1
  • REO - Reovirus type 3
  • LCM - Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus
  • MAD - Mouse Adenovirus
  • CUN - Encephalitozoon cunculi
  • CAR - Cilia Associated Respiratory Bacillus
  • Bordetella Bronchiseptica
  • Citrobacter rodentium
  • Corynebacterium kutscheri
  • Pasteurella spp
  • Salmonella spp
  • Streptobacillus moniliformis
  • Streptococci (beta haem)
  • Streptococus pneumoniae
  • Ectoparasites / Arthropods
  • GI Worms / Helminths
  • Gardia spp
  • Pnemocystis carinii
  • Protozoa
  • Leptospira
  • TYZ - Clostridium piliforme (Tyzerr's)
  • RCV - Rat Corona Virus

In conjunction with the comprehensive testing, a basic panel is conducted at three monthly intervals

  • PARV - Parvovirus (rNS1 antigen)
  • MHV - Mouse Hepatitis Virus
  • MVM - Minute Virus of Mice
  • EDIM/ROTA - Mouse Rotavirus
  • MNV - Mouse Norovirus
  • TMEV/GDVII - Theiler's Murine Encephalomyelytis Virus
  • PVM - Pneumonia Virus of Mice

Legislative Compliance

Self-reviews of our facilities and buildings are conducted on a regular basis and MAS remains abreast of legislative requirements and industry codes of practice relevant to animal breeding and holding. Where necessary, we make modifications to our buildings or procedures to ensure the best possible environment is maintained.

Animal Environment

Quality assurance is about more than just testing for viral pathogens. Our Rodent Breeding & Research Facility employs high standards of environmental quality and protection for our animals.

Animals are housed in individually ventilated cages (IVC - Techniplast Microisolators). The IVC systems are run on positive pressure, thus protecting the cage occupants from the ingress of airborne pathogens, whilst also inhibiting the expulsion of airborne allergens. Supply and exhaust air supplies are HEPA filtered by Techniplast SealSafe IVC units.

Our temperature controlled PC2 animal holding rooms are barrier maintained and the air supply HEPA filtered, providing twice the protection from particles and allergens. Laminar flow hoods are used for changing cages.

Animals housed in our East Wing are agisted in exhaust ventilated cages (EVC - OptiMICE). The EVC system is free of noise, odors and allergens and uses our existing HVAC system to draw fresh air through the inlet filter at the front and out through the exhaust filter at the back. This is then connected to the room air exhaust.

The housing environment contains the dust free bedding Aspen. Aspen has a substantial absorbency with its capacity approximately 150% its own weight. Soiled matter circulates from the surface of the bedding layer toward the bottom, so a clean surface is maintained.

Aspen bedding is extensively tested at production to ensure optimal bedding conditions for animals.