Establishing the first institutional animal care and use committee in Egypt

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough animal research ethics committees (AREC) are well established in Western countries, this field is weakly developed and its concept is poorly understood in the Middle East and North Africa region.ObjectiveOur main objective was to introduce the concept and requirements of ethical approaches in dealing with experimental animal in research and teaching in Egypt.MethodsDue to its very recent inception, Cairo University, Faculty of Science IACUC decided to operate in accordance with Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 8th Edition 2011 (the Guide) since Egypt has not yet compiled its own guide.ResultsFifty protocols were reviewed in 2013–2014. Only ten protocols were reviewed in 2013, but in 2014, forty protocols were reviewed. In 2013 all protocols were approved and in 2014, number of approvals were 35, the number of deferrals were 4, and one refused protocol. Master’s theses (MSc) research protocols constituted the majority of the total reviewed protocols. This is attributed to the decision of the Board of the Faculty of Science, Cairo University in September, 2013 that the approval of the IACUC is mandatory before conducting any research involving animals or theses registration.ConclusionThe first IACUC was established in the Cairo University, Faculty of Science, since 2012. The challenges encountered by the committee were diverse, such as the absence of laws that control the use of animal models in scientific research, lack of guidelines (protocols for experimental animals in research) and, mandatory ethical approval for any experimental animal research.

tert-Butylhydroquinone Treatment Alleviates Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Rats by Activating the Nrf2/Sirt3/SOD2 Signaling Pathway

“…The animals were fed a standard rat chow diet and had free access to water. The study was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the Southern Medical University and was carried out following the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the United States National Institutes of Health [14]. The rats were divided into (1) control group (n = 6), (2) ioversol group (n = 6), (3) ioversol+t-BHQ group (n = 6), and (4) t-BHQ group (n = 6).…”

Detection of lumpy skin disease virus in cattle using real-time polymerase chain reaction and serological diagnostic assays in different governorates in Egypt in 2017

“…All samples were collected as per standard procedure without giving any stress or harm to the animals. The work was conducted according to the European Union [24], and the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health Guide [25]. All laboratory work was conducted at the National Research Centre laboratories, Cairo, Egypt.…”

“…Skin biopsy samples previously prepared were inoculated into the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of 9-11-day-old eggs using the specific pathogen-free ECE (SPF-ECE) route for three blind passages according to the method described by the OIE [25]. Briefly, 200 μl from the supernatant fluid of each tissue homogenate was inoculated into the CAM of 5 chicken embryos, incubated at 37°C, and examined daily.…”

Diagnosis of Foot and Mouth Disease in Cattle and Buffaloes in Different Governorates of Egypt.

“…All samples were collected as per standard procedure without giving any stress or harm to the animals. The work was done according to the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health Guide (Sohair et al, 2016). All laboratory work was done at the National Research Centre and in Animals Health Institute biosafety II laboratory also, oral permission of the animal owners from the individual or private animals farms, before clinical samples from cattle were taken under the supervision of professional veterinarian according to the Egyptian general organization of veterinary services, ministry of agriculture…”