Chipangura, J.K., Abdussamad, A.M. and Lewis, D.I. orcid.org/0000-0003-3014-3427 (2024) The Veterinarian’s Role in Biocontainment Research Animal Facilities and Prevention of Spread of Pathogens: A Case of Nigeria and South Africa. Laboratories, 1 (2). pp. 103-115. ISSN 2813-8856
Abstract
Infections acquired in research laboratories and unintentional pathogen escapes from breaches in biocontainment pose risks to humans and the environment, necessitating the need for effective biosafety and biosecurity management frameworks in biocontainment research animal facilities (BRAFs). We examine key biosafety issues associated with BRAFs, including inadequate decontamination procedures for wastewater and experimental samples, handling high biosafety level pathogens in lower-level laboratories, risks of animal bites and sharps injuries, contamination of bedding and enrichment materials, and improper management and transportation of biohazard samples. Additionally, we discuss the role of veterinarians in research animal facilities and the challenges they encounter in maintaining biocontainment standards. We emphasise the importance of routine monitoring of effluent water to detect possible disease outbreaks. We recommend a thorough investigation of disease outbreaks to identify potential sources of pathogen release from BRAFs, which could serve as hotspots for future disease outbreaks. Findings from such investigations will inform the development of policies aimed at safeguarding human populations from future pandemics and preventing BRAFs from becoming sources of infectious disease outbreaks.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 by the authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | veterinarian; biocontainment research animal facility; epicentre; pathogens; contamination |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biomedical Sciences (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 03 Sep 2024 10:39 |
Last Modified: | 03 Sep 2024 10:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/laboratories1020008 |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:216712 |