Exhaust Air Dust Testing (EAD®) Health Monitoring Programs
Sentinel animals monitor colony health in an indirect and delayed fashion. They are commonly exposed to bedding contaminated with waste from colony animals. To be effective, sentinels must be exposed to as much soiled bedding as possible to overcome the dilution factor that can prevent or delay transmission to sentinels.This approach is dependent on the pathogen load that is present in the bedding during exposure and the ability of the agent to remain viable and infectious.
Many animal research facilities have moved toward a sentinel-free system to help reduce the use of research animals and improve pathogen surveillance. Screening samples from the environment via more sensitive methods, such as Exhaust Air Dust (EAD®) or environmental PCR testing, allows you to reduce or eliminate the need for sentinel animals.
Additionally, this method overcomes the known limitations of soiled-bedding sentinels for detecting certain rodent infectious agents. We can work with you to develop a program that is right for your facility.
A Guide to Modern Strategies for Infection Surveillance of Rodent Populations: Beyond Sentinels
This guide highlights infection surveillance for rodent populations, provides a brief overview of agents to consider as part of a program, and offers recommendations for selecting assays. Download Now
Sentinel-Free Surveillance Sampling Methods
| Housing Type | Colony Animal Sampling | Environmental Swabs | Plenum/Blower Swabs | In-Line Collection Device | Sentinel Cage Filter | Other |
| Open-top caging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Microisolator (static, shoebox) | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| IVC - NO cage-level filtration (e.g., Allentown, Tecniplast, alternative design) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| IVC - WITH cage-level filtration (e.g., Thoren, Innovive, Lab Products, Animal Care systems (Optimice) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Sentinel-Free Sample Collection Method Examples
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Tecniplast Interceptor
Designed for Tecniplast caging systems, the Interceptor offers a more accurate and sensitive environmental health monitoring alternative to the soiled-bedding method by gathering samples via EAD® and using PCR to analyze them.
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Allentown Sentinel™ EAD®
Co-developed with Allentown, the Allentown Sentinel™ EAD® capture unit reduces the labor and time associated with manually swabbing a rack for samples. By placing the unit in the exhaust plenum of an Allentown rack, Sentinel™ EAD® automatically captures exhaust air dust samples as the air flows over its proprietary media. When it is time to test your rack (every three months), you can remove the integrated collection media and send it to Charles River for testing.
Resource
PathogenBinder: Setting the Standard for Sentinel-Free Health Monitoring and Quarantine
This webinar will show you how the PathogenBinder system can help your lab facilitate faster quarantine and improve pathogen detection by PCR. Watch on Demand
An Easier Way to Submit Your Samples
Our Laboratory Testing Management® (LTM) platform can help streamline sample submission, result reporting, and tracking – all from one convenient place.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Sentinel-Free Health Monitoring
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What cage types are used for sentinel-free health monitoring?
Two cage types are used for sentinel-free health monitoring:
Microisolator Cages
Microisolator (static) cages are a simple, yet effective design that enables a cage-level barrier between the inside of the cage and the external environment. This is established by utilizing a cage lid that has been fitted with a specialized filter that allows air flow but prevents environmental contaminants from entering the cages. Microisolators cannot use EAD® because there is no active air movement.Conventional Cages
Conventional (open-top) cages are absent of a filter top and are placed directly onto a rack or shelf. The main difference with this type of caging is that there is no barrier or protection between the interior of the cage and the room environment, therefore posing a higher risk to biosecurity. -
Which rodent health monitoring services are used to monitor the health of my research?
Diagnostic services to monitor the health of your animal colonies include: