Environmental Health Monitoring:

How to Switch

It takes time and dedicated effort to switch an entire institution to environmental health monitoring (EHM) from a traditional soiled bedding sentinel (SBS) program. Below are the steps we recommend taking for the best success. If you have further questions after exploring these steps and our FAQs above, please reach out to info@na3rsc.org. Our environmental health monitoring initiative members are here to support you in the process of making the switch.

  1. Collect reference material from the 3RsC website. 
  2. Gather information on your facility’s rack and caging system to determine and decide your EHM options.
  3. Reach out to vendors and diagnostic laboratories, as necessary. 
    • Contact your diagnostic laboratory to confirm their ability to perform testing on EHM submissions. Note that Charles River Laboratories, IDEXX, and VRL can all test EHM submissions.
    • If you plan to use EDT, contact rack manufacturers to price any necessary media holders. 
  4. Gather a small internal advocacy group & get initial buy-in.
    • It’s easier to make progress with a team of people.
    • Get any necessary buy-in from Senior Management (e.g., vivarium director). 
    • Conduct and share results from a cost analysis as desired.
    • Evaluate your current sanitation methods and determine if any changes are needed. See our resource for more info. 
    • Provide education to your staff with resources on the website and our editable slide deck.
  5. Decide whether a small pilot program is necessary or desired at your institution.
    • Although there is strong literature support for the effectiveness of EHM as compared to SBS, some institutions may still want to conduct temporary hybrid testing either as a small scale pilot or across the facility to determine best practices and proof of concept.
    • We recommend this occur across one testing period (typically a quarter).
    • If the room is positive for specific agents and there is no current data on those in the literature, consider designing and publishing a case study on your results.
    • If the room is clean for all agents on the panel, you could choose to add Astrovirus or the rodent housekeeping gene (ex: ApoR) to the panel as a positive control for your internal study.
    • Once the pilot is complete, present the background, rationale, and pilot program to a larger audience (editable slide deck).
  6. Develop materials and a timeline for implementing EHM across your facility and replacing soiled bedding sentinels.
    • Develop SOP and/or study outline and review with staff – SOPs available on 3RsC website. 
    • Train staff on the EHM technique selected.
    • Report any pilot results to all stakeholders.
    • Generate enthusiasm around the technology – departmental websites, newsletters, e-mail communication. 
    • Start small with a few rooms and then gradually expand the program to additional rooms.
      • You may choose to switch an entire sector over at a specific time or conveniently wait until the planned euthanasia of existing live animals before starting EHM across the next year.
    • Communicate with investigators and technical staff. 
    • If unexpected pathogens are discovered, develop a standardized way confirm results prior to taking additional action.

Successful Case Studies

Below is detailed information about how two large animal facilities replaced their soiled bedding information with environmental health monitoring techniques. We’ve included a PDF of each presentation for you to view and a high-level summary of their processes.

Case Study #1: The Centre for Phenogenomics (Toronto, Canada)

Overview:

The Center for Phenogenomics (TCP) began trials for Environmental Dust Testing in 2017. It took them until 2018 to begin implementation, and by 2023 they had switched any remaining sentinels to sentinel-free soiled bedding. 

Facility features:

2 floors of ~13,000 SPF mouse cages, 300 racks, 9 racks per room 

Considerations:

  • A unique central ventilation system that required specialized attachment for EDT
  • Functional areas with unique health monitoring requirements

Steps to implementation:  

  1. Added 1 sentinel-free soiled bedding (SFSB) cage per IVC rack
  2. Transfer soiled bedding in a similar way to soiled bedded sentinel cages 
  3. A dedicated vet tech performs media exposure/submissions 
  4. Use the dredge method to expose media quarterly 
  5. Pool 2 media in 1 submission and a combination of large and small PCR panels 
  6. Each rack tested 4x per year

Challenges:  

  • Time: for documentation and training
  • Money: switching from serology to PCR 
  • Scheduling: aligning testing + pooling schedules for all 200 racks

Successes: 

  • Eliminated sentinels 
  • Saved tech time because no serology needed
  • Hybrid results (EDT + SFSB) allow flexibility 

Future: 

  • Conduct a cost benefit analysis 
  • Switch from SFSB to EDT across the facility to save time and increase consistency

Case Study #2: The University of Colorado, Anschutz Neducak Campus (Aurora, Colorado)

Overview:

Started the switch in 2022 and took 11 months to switch. Overall, 2200 rodents saved/year and $41,500 saved/year.

Facility features:

98% EDT (~23,000 cages) and 2% Sentinel-free Soiled Bedding (~400 cages) 

Considerations: 

  • Which transition model do you want to use? Gradual transition, EHM and SBS in parallel or elimination of SBS by cold turkey 
  • Dismantling a 50-year old program: how to insert/move/collect media? Starting, removing and moving a new rack? 
  • Translation of SOPs to English, Spanish and Amharic 
  • Aim: transition 551 racks to EDT/SFSB 

Steps CU Anschutz took to implementation: 

  1. Decided which transition model to take = cold turkey
  2. Purchased sentinel media holders to maximize staff efficiency and decrease sampling variability 
  3. Staggered facility starts by 1 month 
  4. January to March 2022: vet techs focused on ending the SBS program, vets focused on starting EDT program
  5. Conducted EDT Training: used SOPs in both English and Spanish, hands on training with 8 animal care techs and 2 veterinary techs 
  6. Add reminders to racks: rack sanitation every 6 months, 2-3 racks changed out per day, move media as well 
  7. No parallel period to transition 
  8. SFSB sampling: dredge filter media, swirl 3-flocked swabs, single media exposure at 3 months 

Challenges: 

  • Need detail-oriented people designated as the Sentinel Program Coordinator 
  • Hard to implement not knowing the entire program 
  • Need to build in room for mistakes 
  • Communication can always be better 
  • People don’t always read emails, so hands-on training is important  

Successes: 

  • Anticipated a 15% media loss in the 1st quarter: actually a <2% loss 
  • Fully implemented for primary facility by March 1st, 2022, secondary facilities by April 1st, 2022
  • MNV detected at the same rate, no new agents detected 

Future: 

  • Financial and time comparison pending