Animal Health

Shanghai Model Organisms Center (SMOC) provides you with model mice that have been raised under specific pathogen-free (SPF) barriers. Since obtaining AAALAC-accreditation in 2012, Shanghai Model Organisms Center Co., Ltd. has adhered to the standards outlined in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide).

Cage Systems for Mice

Currently, Shanghai Model Organisms Center Co., Ltd uses 3 types of cage systems in the animal room: (1) SPF-barrier system with membrane cover and wood shavings bedding; (2) Individually ventilated cage (IVC) system with corncob bedding; (3) Isolation cage system with corncob bedding.

Drinking Water for Mice

Acidified water that has been autoclaved or purified by the filtration system, with pH between 2.5 and 3.

Feed for Mice

Irradiated complete feed.

Basic Entry/Exit Regulations for Items in the Animal Room

Cages, bedding and drinking water are replaced once a week. All dirty cages and water bottles can enter the animal room only after being cleaned and autoclaved. Other items that cannot be autoclaved shall be irradiated, UV-irradiated or sprayed with disinfectant reagents before entering the animal room.

Basic Entry and Operation Procedures for Staff in the Animal Room

All animal keepers and management personnel have been certified by Shanghai Laboratory Animal Center and entry to the animal room is only allowed for personnel who have completed the training of the organization.

Before entering the SPF area, personnel are required to change into the working clothes for feeding and professional work shoes in a separate area, and wear autoclaved working clothes, disposable sterile shoe covers, disposable sterile masks, hats and gloves in the  locker room of the SPF area.

The cage and drinking water are changed once a week. When the cages are replaced, the tweezers are immersed in a 75% alcohol cylinder for disinfection and the gloves of personnel are sprayed with disinfectant for spraying disinfection.

Monitoring Mice Health

The SPF-grade animal room uses sentinel animals for health monitoring, which is mainly carried out through the way the sentinels contact the dirty bedding. Bedding samples from more than 63 cages are placed in the sentinel cage, which houses 2 sentinel mice, for a period of 3 months. A self-evaluation is carried out every three months according to the national testing standards. At the same time, sentinel or random mice are randomly selected to be sent for testing by a third party. When customers have additional requests, we can breed sentinel mice in the same cage for more than 4 weeks before removing them for testing. We will also develop annual inspection plans to meet certain international standards.

Sentinel animals from all areas of the animal room undergo self-evaluation and are sent to a third party for inspection every 3 months. The inspection should adhere to the national inspection standards, which includes a total of 19 (+3) standards.

Compulsory items for the quarterly inspection include:

Salmonella, mycoplasma, corynebacterium kutscheri, Tyzzer's organism, pasteurella pneumophila, klebsiella pneumoniae, pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aureus, poxvirus muris, murine hepatitis virus, sendai virus, pneumonia of mice virus, reoviridae, murine minute virus, ectoparasite, toxoplasma, worms, flagellates, ciliates, murine encephalomyelitis virus (partial areas), murine norovirus (partial areas), helicobacter pylori and corynebacterium bovis (partial areas).

Compulsory items for the annual inspection include:

• Epizootic diarrhea of infant mice

• Lymphocytic choriomeningitis

• Murine minute virus (MPV1.2)

• Encephalomyelitis virus

• Murine adenovirus

Other tests:

• Bacterial colony number per batch of mouse feed is determined and sent to a third party for testing once every six months according to mouse feed testing standards.

• Heavy metal and pesticide residues in the mouse bedding are sent to a third party for testing once every six months.

• Drinking water for the mice is sent to a third party for testing once a year according to national standards for drinking water.

• Housing environment for mice is tested every three months.

  
  

Download third-party test reports and self-evaluation reports for each section of animal room

Quality Assurance

With an experienced team of veterinarians and researchers, advanced equipment, mature testing technologies and strict quality management system, SMOC guarantees consistent quality and is an ideal choice for your project.

In addition to monitoring the health of laboratory animals within our facility, SMOC also provides other supporting services to our customers.