Infectious Agent Surveillance in Laboratory Mice
Summary
Infectious agent surveillance in laboratory mice underpins the validity of biomedical research, ensuring that experimental outcomes are not confounded by undetected pathogens. Health monitoring programmes employ a combination of sentinel animals, environmental sampling and molecular analyses to detect bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic contaminants. Traditional approaches have relied on soiled-bedding sentinels exposed to colony waste, while contemporary strategies have incorporated exhaust air dust analysis, swabbing of barrier surfaces and direct sampling of faecal material. The integration of high-throughput sequencing and sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays has greatly enhanced the detection limits for low-prevalence agents. Maintaining specific-pathogen-free (SPF) status not only safeguards animal welfare but also underpins reproducibility across laboratories worldwide. As colonies become larger and housing systems more complex, surveillance frameworks must be adaptable, cost-effective and compliant with the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) to minimise the use of live sentinels without compromising sensitivity.
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Infectious Agent Surveillance in Laboratory Mice publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in infectious agent surveillance in laboratory mice across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Specific-pathogen-free (SPF): A designation for animal colonies proven free of defined infectious agents by standardised monitoring.
Sentinel mice: Uninfected animals exposed to colony waste or cage environments to reveal silent infections through serology or PCR.
Environmental Health Monitoring (EHM): Non-sentinel-based surveillance involving collection and analysis of environmental samples such as air, water or surfaces.
Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS): A high-throughput approach that sequences all genetic material in a sample to identify microbial communities and pathogens simultaneously.
References
- Microbiota and environmental health monitoring of mouse colonies by metagenomic shotgun sequencing. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology (2022).
- Do we still need a canary in the coal mine for laboratory animal facilities? A systematic review of environmental health monitoring versus soiled bedding sentinels. PLOS ONE (2024).
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