Foundation of a functional murine pathogen free animal facility in Colombia

Abstract

In order to guarantee the accuracy of the data, experimentation with animal models requires well defined microbiological and genetic statuses with periodical verification. To produce murine pathogen free mice, an outbreeding program was set up by importing 173 non-related Swiss albino ICR breeders that were hosted under strict conditions of microbiological isolation in the animal facilities of the University of Antioquia Medical Faculty. After two years of uninterrupted reproduction, microbiological control demonstrated unaltered murine flora for both parents and offspring, the same with which original breeders were dispatched to Colombia, complying with current international standards. An outbreak of Murine Parvovirus (MPV) was timely detected and erradicated thanks to strict testing of microbiological barriers. The breeding program allowed the production of animals free of genetic contamination.