Importing Rodents into University of Illinois Animal Facilities

Policy

Only animals originating from an approved commercial vendor or other approved sources are received in the University of Illinois animal facilities without undergoing additional screening, quarantine, rederivation, or other suitable monitoring or decontamination procedures. Approved vendor/source status is conferred by the Animal Care Program - Laboratory Animals (ACP-LAB, formerly DAR) veterinary staff to institutions that can document that they have an acceptable disease control and surveillance program and that the source colony is free from all microbial agents of concern.

Rodents may be imported from non-approved sources if the source institution provides suitable documentation regarding health status. Import request forms and guidelines for submission can be found on the ACP-LAB website. Once health status is reviewed and the request approved by the ACP-LAB veterinary staff, the animals will be received only into the ACP-LAB Rodent Quarantine Facility (RQF). They will be subject to the operating procedures and policies of the RQF and services provided will be at the investigator’s expense. Access to the RQF and breeding of quarantined animals is prohibited unless authorized by the ACP-LAB veterinarian.

Background

Laboratory rodents, particularly mice and rats, are susceptible to microbial infections, which can have devastating effects on a research study by rendering animal subjects worthless, either by making them sick or by inducing physiologic changes in the absence of overt illness. Control measures that minimize the risk of opportunistic infections in the rodent colonies are critical to both the research and veterinary care programs.