RESAMA: A Network for Monitoring Health and Husbandry Practices in Aquatic Research Facilities

Abstract

Health monitoring is a crucial aspect of the management of any research animal house. RESAMA is a network strong of 60 academic and private partners acting in France since the end of 2012. The network aims to increase awareness of animal caretakers and researchers on health management issues in facilities holding aquatic model species (zebrafish, Xenopus, medaka, Mexican tetra). To do so, each partner research facility will be visited at least once. The visiting team is composed at least of one veterinarian and one zootechnician specialized in aquatic species. The visit results in a health-monitoring assessment of the facility, which includes a sampling for histo-pathological, bacteriological, and molecular pathogen detection. During the visit, rearing practices are also reviewed through an interview of animal caretakers. However, the present report essentially focuses on the health-monitoring aspect. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide a network-wide picture of health issues in aquatic facilities. Performed in parallel, the rearing practice assessment will ultimately help to establish rational relationship between handling practices and animal health in aquatic facilities. The study is still in progress. Here, we describe the results to be drawn from an analysis of the 23 facilities that had been visited so far. We sampled 720 fish and 127 amphibians and performed a little less than 1400 individual tests.

Environmental Screening of <em>Aeromonas hydrophila</em>, <em>Mycobacterium</em> spp., and <em>Pseudocapillaria tomentosa</em> in Zebrafish Systems

“…The ICLAS Performance Evaluation Program 28 is key to that process in rodents. The RESAMA network reports the detection of M. gordonae and M. mucogenicum in French D. rerio 11 . These Mycobacteria are not proposed in the panels of the commercial laboratories that we use.…”

“…In order to protect research and animal welfare 1 2 , the presence of pathogens is monitored within animal facilities. In the case of zebrafish, health monitoring 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 often relies on animals analyzed post mortem by histopathology, bacteriology culture, or molecular methods. Testing only colony animals is not the recommended method due to the number of fish and related expenses that would be required to detect pathogens of low prevalence.…”

Review of diseases and health management in zebrafish Danio rerio (Hamilton 1822) in research facilities

“…Likewise, genera of bacteria with members that are pathogenic are often isolated from the intestines of live zebrafish, tissues of dead fish or from their environments. This includes members of the genera Pseudomonas , Aeromonas , Vibrio, Mycoplasma and Mycobacterium (Gaulke, Barton, Proffitt, Tanguay, & Sharpton, 2016; Gaulke et al, 2019; Legendre et al, 2016; Pullium, Dillehay, & Webb, 1999; Roeselers et al, 2011). These strains or species should not be considered pathogenic without other supporting evidence, such as connecting infections to lesions consistent with bacterial infections (Pullium et al, 1999).…”

Universal Healthcare for Zebrafish

“…It is both a celebration of the extraordinary growth of the model and an initiation of a discussion on ways to capitalize on what has been learned about zebrafish husbandry and health so that zebrafish can continue to be an outstanding model, whether one has a single small tank or a gigantic facility. This collection of 23 articles submitted by contributors from around the world addresses a wide range of issues ranging from management of many types and sizes of zebrafish research facilities, [5][6][7][8][9][10] strategies for monitoring colony health, [11][12][13][14] case reports of pathogen outbreaks in zebrafish colonies, 15,16 results of studies of endemic and exotic pathogens, [17][18][19] testing of disinfection protocols, 20 establishing regulations for health surveillance for zebrafish importation, 21 to standardization of reporting on health status, 8,[22][23][24] nomenclature, 25 and nutrition. 26 We view this as the beginning of a community-wide dialogue that will promote zebrafish health and thus enhance research productivity and validity of results.…”

“…16 As with other aspects of facility management, health monitoring varies from facility to facility. Articles by Geisler et 7,8,12,13,23 Several articles also point out how simple strategies, for example, using brightly colored markers or different room colors, can simplify monitoring by making health status of particular fish available at a glance. 5,15,16 The articles in this issue and the results of our survey reveal that most facilities have quarantine space so that zebrafish imported from other facilities are monitored before being moved into main facility housing.…”