Laboratory Animal Medicine Discussion on Facility Housekeeping

It is important to prevent cross contamination between animals. It is also vital that people not get sick from animals. There are a variety of products on the market to help with this. Everything should be well cleaned and well sanitized to prevent contamination from one animal to another. There should be clean and dirty corridors to prevent contamination between animals. There may be decontamination rooms which are used There may be common corridors for people who are clean and for contaminated equipment. That may be taken to another location. Personal protective gear may be used. Quarantine and isolation systems should be adhered to. Contamination can happen through fomites, through food that is contaminated, through handlers not clearing their hands and through handlers handling pets and then not cleaning themselves before handling the animals in the laboratory. Lab animal technicians handle the cleaning and sanitization and disinfection processes. They are also often handling the animals directly on a regular basis requiring them to maintain clean habits.

By keeping feed and bedding storage done well it can help to ensure that there is no contamination between animals and the animals that are there do not get sick ore contaminate themselves with unsanitary conditions. Food should be contained correctly and dispensed in a manner that ensures that fomites do not spread disease. They should be disinfected between animals. Some bedding should be kept to ensure that there is not pests that can contaminate the bedding The same goes with food and food that can spoil. Microorganisms can make people very sick. They can spread disease from animal to animal. Disease and parasites can have a devastating effect by potentially spreading to others.

In addition, spreading disease can happen through supplies and through not cleaning things well enough Some bacteria is hard to kill. Therefore, the system to should be carefully done. Chemicals should be used according to their use and in the manner they should be appropriately contained and in their original container. Loss of animals can impact research, take money, cost time and effort to help the animals, clean the facility well and if necessary get new animals. Eliminate the microbes through the sanitization, disinfection and sterilization processes, such as cleaning surfaces well, destroying microorganisms through disinfectants or through sterilization like through an autoclave.