Comparative Med
-
Comparative Study
Pathobiology and management of laboratory rodents administered CDC category A agents.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Category A infectious agents include Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism), Yersinia pestis (plague), variola major virus (smallpox), Francisella tularensis (tularemia), and the filoviruses and arenaviruses that induce viral hemorrhagic fevers. These agents are regarded as having the greatest potential for adverse impact on public health and therefore are a focus of renewed attention in infectious disease research. Frequently rodent models are used to study the pathobiology of these agents. ⋯ Failure to appropriately manage the animals can result both in the creation of workplace hazards if human exposures occur and in disruption of the research if unintended animal exposures occur. Here we review representative Category A agents, with a focus on comparing the biologic effects in naturally infected humans and rodent models and on considerations specific to the management of infected rodent subjects. The information reviewed for each agent has been curated manually and stored in a unique Internet-based database system called HazARD (Hazards in Animal Research Database, http://helab.bioinformatics.med.umich.edu/hazard/) that is designed to assist researchers, administrators, safety officials, Institutional Biosafety Committees, and veterinary personnel seeking information on the management of risks associated with animal studies involving hazardous substances.