Features Of Working With Laboratory Animals In Microbiological Laboratory

Standardization of experimental conditions is the main criterion for obtaining qualitative results. For many decades, laboratory animals have been an integral part of biomedical research. The use of animals in pharmacological experiments is justified in particular when evaluating the antimicrobial activity of drugs and substances, since in vivo results may differ significantly from in vitro tests. In the modern scientific community, the design of experiments should comply with ethical principles. Particular attention is paid to the quality of animals. The laboratory should have a program for monitoring the health of animals; animals should be taken into the experiment with a known microbiological status. Animal welfare conditions are also important. In microbiological studies using pathogenic biological agents (PBA), the main criterion is to protect personnel and the environment from infected animals and their waste products. From this point of view, keeping animals in an individually ventilated system is optimal. Personnel with medical, veterinary, biological and other education and relevant specialization courses may be allowed to work with the PBA of the III-IV pathogenicity groups. Trained staff under the supervision of a veterinarian carries out animal manipulations. All procedures within the microbiological laboratory must be conducted in compliance with the requirements of biological safety. The choice of a model of an experiment on the infection of animals can be justified by conducting pilot studies. In this case, the researcher needs to take into account a number of features: the sensitivity of the animal, the route of infection, the tropism of microorganisms to certain tissues and systems, and, in fact, obtaining an experimental infectious process to clinical signs similar to humans. Thus, conducting experiments with infected animals requires a licensed microbiology laboratory equipped with the necessary equipment and materials, optimal animal welfare conditions, qualified and trained personnel, as well as scientific knowledge. Compliance with all the rules will allow to competently plan microbiological research with obtaining reliable quality results.