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West Virginia University Office of Animal Welfare
WVU Research Office

March 2022 Newsletter


Expanding AAALAC Accreditation to the entire WVU Research Animal Program

In support of the Research 1 ranking at West Virginia University, expansion of the AAALAC accreditation to all research and teaching animals in the program is being sought.  The Davis College Research, Education and Outreach Centers (REOC) in Morgantown, Reedsville and Wardensville have submitted a program description to AAALAC for consideration. 

In preparation for this, the Office of Animal Welfare, the Attending Veterinarian and Davis College staff prepared documentation and scheduled a mock site visit from an AAALAC consultant, in August 2021.  The consultant toured all the REOCs being considered for accreditation and was very positive about where the agricultural animal program stood.  He suggested a couple of administrative actions that could improve staff safety and biosecurity, but stated in his report: “You have dedicated animal care and veterinary staff who provide very good animal care.  It was evident that the animal care staff takes pride in caring for the animals as demonstrated in part by: animals that I saw were healthy, and if were sick, were identified as such and had appropriate veterinary care and treatment; animals were well socialized; and staff were engaged and knowledgeable about the program, the facilities, and the animals."

The Davis College REOC program description has been accepted by AAALAC, and April 2022 dates are scheduled for a Program Status Evaluation (PSE), the next step to accreditation.

You can find out more about AAALAC by visiting their website:

https://www.aaalac.org/

IACUC News/Updates

  • Updated Protocol Forms The committee recently approved updates to three protocol submission forms, which will go into effect April 1st, 2022. You can find CURRENT protocol submission forms on our website: https://animal.research.wvu.edu/protocols
    • Main Protocol Form: 
      • Two new procedural Appendices on page 1 (see below)
      • Indicate subject/course # for teaching protocols
      • Indicate collaborations
      • Reminder to update funding info ASAP via amendments
      • Pain category information added in Section 5
      • Euthanasia table updated
      • IACUC Policies, Guidelines, SOPs table updated
    • *NEW* Appendix R - Field Work
      • Provide details of field work procedures
    • *NEW* Appendix S - Food and Water Changes for Study Purposes
      • Provide details for procedures involving food/water manipulation, deprivation, regulation or restriction
  • Annual Reviews A recent amendment to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) included a change in requirement from continual (annual) review of animal activities to a full review (complete resubmission) every three years. As part of its efforts to reduce administrative burden on researchers, the IACUC recently voted to end annual reviews of protocols involving USDA-covered species as the already required 3-year protocol renewal meets the updated AWA requirements.
  • Inspection Ready Checklist The Office of Animal Welfare has developed a checklist for researchers to utilize prior to Semi-Annual Facility Inspections and in preparation for AAALAC site visits. You can download and print the checklist from our website: https://animal.research.wvu.edu/updates under "Inspection Ready Checklist".
  • Updated Personnel Training Requirements The IACUC recently voted to approve updates to required training, and a notice recently went out to investigators for a 30-day review period.
  • Semi-Annual Facility Inspections will begin near the end of March 2022.
  • Davis College Research, Education and Outreach Centers (REOC) UPDATED Form You can find a link to the updated Animal Acquisition Form on the OAW website, near the bottom of the "Protocols" page: https://animal.research.wvu.edu/protocols

OLAR News/Updates

  • Satellite Housing Visits OLAR veterinary staff are now visiting aquatic satellite housing locations on a monthly basis, and rodent satellites on a weekly basis (when animals are present) for routine rounds. If you haven't received a visit, please contact OLAR vet staff to schedule. If veterinary concerns are discovered in the interim, please email OLARvetstaff@hsc.wvu.edu. Veterinary staff must evaluate sick or injured animals, and determine a treatment plan for all animals with clinical signs that are not described within the approved animal use protocol. If there are environmental concerns in the housing location, please reach out to facilities and the Attending Veterinarian. These visits are meant to foster collaboration and support between the veterinary team and the research laboratories.
  • CHARM Testing In preparation for AAALAC, OLAR husbandry supervisors will be working with researchers to CHARM test all equipment, caging, and accessories which contact animals but are not cleaned through the vivarium cage wash. This includes behavioral equipment which is handwashed, any cage components that OLAR does not clean, enrichment items, and aquatic housing equipment. If you have this type of equipment and they have not been scheduled for CHARM testing, please reach out to OLARhusbandrysupervisors@hsc.wvu.edu. This will be performed every 6 months moving forward.
  • Autoclaves If you are using autoclaves outside of OLAR for equipment used in survival surgical procedures, they must be tested using a bioindicator every six (6) months. Please reach out to ensure your machine is on the schedule: OLARhusbandrysupervisors@hsc.wvu.edu.
  • Procedure Room Cleaning New "cleaning checklists" have been posted in OLAR iLab-reserved procedure rooms. The checklist is meant to aid research personnel in identifying tasks to be completed, in order to leave procedure rooms clean and ready for the next use. The checklist also asks for contact information in the event OLAR staff has questions or concerns about previous room usage. A cleaning fee may be charged as necessary for rooms that are not properly cleaned after use.
  • NEW DIRTY CAGE DROP LOCATION OLAR recently notified HSC vivarium users of the new location, within room G204, starting on 2/28/2022. All dirty cages must be placed in this designated location, and marked with the room and investigator.

Providing Clinical Treatment to Animals

Please keep in mind that it is necessary to consult with veterinary staff before providing clinical treatment to research and teaching animals. Unless the treatment is already described as part of your approved animal use protocol or a veterinary-approved SOP referenced in your protocol, you should consult with veterinary staff before providing treatment to animals when unexpected illness or injury occurs. Feel free to contact the OAW or veterinary staff if you have additional questions.

Emergency Veterinary Contact numbers are posted in each facility, or you can contact the site manager for further information to post in your research area.

Overcrowded Rodent Cages

OLAR  has seen an increase in overcrowded cages among mouse users. Please remember, if you are utilizing trio or harem breeding schemes, or postpartum estrus with your mice, it is the research staff's responsibility to separate pregnant females before they give birth. 

Please refer to these two IACUC documents for further guidance:
Biomedical Research - Primary Enclosure Space and Density
Breeding and Weaning of Mice and Rats

From the Breeding and Weaning Guidelines-
"Pregnant females must be separated prior to parturition, and only 1 litter of pups with up to 2 adults may remain in the cage after pups are born."
"If postpartum estrus is used, the first litter must be weaned by 20 days of age to prevent the presence of two litters in the cage."

Reminder: any exceptions to IACUC Policies/Guidelines must be justified and approved in the animal use protocol.

REMINDER for Single Housed Animals

Remember to place "Single Housing Cards" on the cages of singly housed animals. Be sure to fill out the card completely, including a reason for the single housing. Also, a 2nd form of enrichment should be added to the cage (e.g.: hut, tube - for rodents, in addition to the standard nesting material), if allowed per protocol.

Refer to IACUC #18-001 Social Housing of Research Animals for more information.

Updated IACUC Policies, Guidelines and SOPs

Below is a list of *NEW* or recently updated policies and guidelines. You can find them on the OAW website here:

IACUC Policies, Guidelines & SOPs 

  • *NEW* Biomedical Research - Primary Enclosure Space and Density (6/2021)
  • Tumor Development Endpoints for Euthanasia in Rodents (updated 7/2021)
  • *NEW* Aquatic Vertebrate Guidelines (7/2021) - replaced previous Fish & Aquatic Frog SOP
  • *NEW* Administration of Substances to Research and Teaching Animals (7/2021)
  • *NEW* Transportation of Animals used in Biomedical Research and Teaching (7/2021)
  • Biomedical Research Involving Changes to Food or Fluid (updated 8/2021)
  • Inhalation Facility SOP (updated 9/2021)
  • Euthanasia by Decapitation or Cervical Dislocation (updated 9/2021)
  • Veterinary Recommendations for Anesthesia and Analgesia (updated 11/2021)
  • OLAR ABSL-2 Use in Animals SOP (updated 11/2021)
  • *NEW* Acquisition and Disposition of Biomedical Research and Teaching Animals (1/2022)
  • Guidance for Use of Radioactive Materials in Animals (updated 1/2022)
  • Pain and Distress Recognition - Humane Endpoints (updated 1/2022)
  • Field Studies (updated 2/2022)
  • *NEW* Anesthesia Using Tribromoethanol (Avertin) (2/2022)
  • Certification, Maintenance and Use of Equipment Used for Inhalation Anesthesia in Animals (updated 2/2022)