University of Wisconsin-Madison

Veterinary Care

• required by law; coordinated at UW-Madison by RARC, except for the Primate Research Center and MSC, which have their own staff of veterinarians
• RESPONSIBILITY of the Attending Veterinarian. See Appendix for a list of Attending and Clinical Veterinarians. A "job description" for Attending Veterinarian is found in the Attending Veterinarian Section of this handbook and at the following website: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/researchmanual/15-2ATTE.PDFl
• a veterinarian is available at UW-Madison 24 hours/day, 7 days/week for all research animals. Call the UW Hospital Message Center (262-2122) and ask them to page the veterinarian on call.
• veterinary care includes, but is not limited to:
  • preventive medicine
  • surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, and control of disease, including zoonosis control
  • management of protocol-associated disease, disability, or other sequelae
  • anesthesia and analgesia
  • surgery and postsurgical care
  • assessment of animal well-being
  • euthanasia

Preventive Medicine

procure animals from "approved" (usually commercial) vendors, if at all possible

• animals from non-commercial sources should be screened for infectious diseases during a quarantine period before contact with animals already in the colony--contact your Attending Veterinarian for details.
  • nonhuman primates require several weeks of quarantine and testing
• methods of identification of animals vary with the species--contact your Attending Veterinarian for specific requirements that USDA may have for identification procedures (especially for larger animals such as nonhuman primates, dogs, and cats)
  • room, rack, and cage cards
  • collars and bands
  • ear notches and tags
  • tattoos
  • implantable microchips
  • toe-clipping of rodents is NOT generally acceptable
• special precautions (i.e., microisolator caging, ventilated caging, protective clothing for animal handlers) may be necessary to prevent disease transmission
• even if not quarantined, newly arrived animals should be allowed a period of stabilization after arrival before use in a research protocol
• different species should generally be housed separately
  • prevents interspecies stress
  • reduces the possibility of transmission of latent diseases
• vaccination requirements vary with species; consult your Attending Veterinarian
  • rodents are not vaccinated
• housing and husbandry can markedly affect the health and well-being of research animals AND scientific results
  • nonhuman primates and dogs have special environmental enrichment (i.e., toys, social partners, etc.) and exercise requirements
  • contact your Attending Veterinarian or RARC for more husbandry information if needed

Surveillance, Diagnosis, Treatment and Control of Disease

• disease surveillance in rodent colonies
  • viral serology
  • screening for bacterial, parasitic, and other agents
  • gross and microscopic pathology
  • particularly important for breeding colonies
  • consult your Attending Veterinarian for specifics
• animals should be observed by trained persons for illness or injury at least daily. Exceptions can be made when animals, i.e., farm species, are housed in large outdoor enclosures. Abnormal findings should be reported to your Attending Veterinarian, including:
  • increased mortality
  • poor reproductive performance
  • inappetence, lethargy or any other signs of disease
• your Attending Veterinarian is responsible for diagnosing and treating any disease, and has many resources available
  • gross pathology
  • microscopic pathology
  • hematology
  • clinical chemistry
  • serology
  • urinalysis
  • radiology
  • PHYSICAL EXAMINATION--probably the most important!

Anesthesia and Analgesia

• proper use of anesthetics and analgesics is an ethical and scientific imperative
• no single anesthetic or analgesic is "best" for all species--depends on:
  • species
  • age of animal
  • duration of procedure
  • invasiveness of procedure
  • experimental objectives
• neuromuscular blocking agents (i.e., succinylcholine) are NOT anesthetics
• rule of thumb for determining the need for analgesia in animals--if it would cause pain in humans, it also causes pain in animals (unless proved otherwise)
• signs of pain (behavioral and physiological) are species-specific (see tables in Techniques for Animal Experimentation)
• your Attending Veterinarian can help you choose the anesthetic and analgesic that is best for your study. Some anesthetics (i.e., ketamine) and analgesics (i.e., opioid derivatives) are controlled substances and a DEA license is required to acquire and use them.

Surgery and Postoperative Care

• surgery can be survival or non-survival
• survival surgeries (both non-rodent and rodent) must be done using aseptic technique (i.e., using techniques that minimize the possible introduction of infection). A series of classes in aseptic technique and surgery is taught by RARC (see list of classes in Appendix).
• major survival surgery: surgery that penetrates and exposes a body cavity, or has the potential to produce permanent handicap (i.e., laparotomy, thoracotomy, craniotomy, limb amputation)
  • non-rodent mammalian survival surgery must be performed in facilities dedicated to that purpose (see the Guide, 1996, pg. 78-79)
  • multiple major survival surgeries are to be avoided unless required scientifically, and approved by the IACUC
• minor surgery: surgery in which only skin or mucous membranes are incised (i.e., peripheral vascular cannulation, wound suturing, some laparoscopic procedures, castration/dehorning in farm animals)
• presurgical care
  • overnight fasting and water deprivation is appropriate for some species, but not all
  • procedure planning (including input from surgeon, anesthetist, veterinarian, investigator)
  • record-keeping!
  • preoperative antibiotics if necessary (i.e., for intestinal procedures)
  • contact your Attending Veterinarian for recommendations.
• postsurgical care should include
  • observation of animal during recovery period
  • maintenance of normal body temperature
  • postoperative analgesia
  • fluids, antibiotics, etc., as needed
  • at least daily observation of surgical site and animal's basic biological functions
  • timely removal of sutures, clips, or staples (see UW-Madison policy listed in Appendix)

RECORDS, RECORDS, RECORDS (sign the entries!)

• date of procedure
• surgeon
• anesthetist
• individual animal identification
• length of procedure
• duration of anesthesia
• description of procedure, including unusual occurrences
• post-procedural monitoring includes:
  • temperature, respiration rate, heart rate, etc.
  • time when anesthesia was discontinued
  • time when animal was extubated (if appropriate)
  • time when animal regained sternal recumbancy
  • time when animal was returned to home cage
  • observations of normal or abnormal behavior
• administration of analgesics, fluid, antibiotics, etc.
• staple/suture/wound clip removal
• kept at least three years, and available to inspectors
• groups of animals undergoing the same procedure can have "group records," i.e., rodents

Euthanasia

• euthanasia is the act of killing animals by methods that induce rapid unconsciousness and death without pain and distress
• methods used should be consistent with the 2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia reprinted from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (or later editions). Copies are available at RARC, or online at: http://www.avma.org/resources/euthanasia.pdf
• may be necessary at the end of a protocol, or to relieve pain and distress
• other animals should not be present when euthanasia is performed
• in general, inhalant or chemical agents (i.e., barbiturates, CO2) are preferable to physical methods (cervical dislocation, decapitation)
• if physical methods are needed for scientific reasons, they can be used, but must be scientifically justified in the animal use protocol and approved by your ACUC
• only skilled personnel should perform euthanasia
• performing euthanasia can be psychologically difficult for some animal care, veterinary, and research personnel
• specific guidelines apply to rodent fetuses and neonates, please consult these guidelines
• consult your Attending Veterinarian for the most appropriate methods of euthanasia for your study