Laboratories engaging in ABSL-2 research and housing animals in a vivarium or other dedicated animal housing space, are required to provide training to animal care and veterinary staff for their projects.
These requirements are listed below and are in accordance with the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) guidelines.
Additional Resources:
- Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (6th edition BMBL)
Researchers and Laboratory Members Roles and Responsibilities:
Researchers must provide training to Animal Care and Veterinary staff about the hazards that they will be using with the animals. The exact way in which this training is provided is not mandated, so examples will be given below to help aid in providing this training.
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What the training they provide must include
Training must include the following:
- A general experimental overview about the hazards that will be given to the animals.
- Biological Agent Information that includes the name of the biological agent or toxin, risk group, possible routes of transmission, whether the agents are possible reproductive hazards, infectious dose of biological agents, and symptoms of infections/exposures.
- Chemical Hazard Information that includes the name of the chemical hazard, the type of hazard (ex. Carcinogen, teratogen), and if the hazard will be added to food or water for the animals.
- Occupational health precautions needed for the animal care staff such as any immunizations that may be required.
- PPE required when working with the agents or animals exposed to the agents.
- Cage Change requirements such as if they need to be performed in a BSC.
- Waste handling and disposal requirements for bedding and carcasses.
- Required room signage and required cage labeling.
- Exposure response plans.
How often training needs to occur
Trainings should be performed:
- Annually
- Any time a new agent will be used
- Any time a change in the currently used agents occurs (ex. change in route of administration)
Documentation of training
It is the responsibility of the laboratory staff to document this training.
Records should include the following:
- A copy of what information was included in the training.
- Who performed the training.
- Date the training was performed.
- Who received the training.
Additional information
- Trainings must occur in person or virtually. Labs will need to work with their facility managers to determine the best way to provide this training as it will vary by facility. Emailing or handouts are not considered sufficient for this training.
- If several labs share space and have similar hazards (ex. all labs are using human cells), they may combine their training for facility animal care staff.
Training Templates
Facility and Care Staff Role and Responsibilities
Facility and Care Staff are responsible for making sure they have received the appropriate training.
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Facility Managers responsibilities
- Coordinate trainings with the lab staff for their facility members.
- Ensure that facility staff has the summary of biological hazards from the animal protocols.
- Ensure that facility staff has access to Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and the chemical hazards summaries from the animal protocols.
- At the discretion of the facility manager, they may work with the laboratory staff to receive the training and provide the training to their staff. If this occurs, the laboratory staff would document that they “trained the trainer” and the facility manager would then need to document the training of the facility animal care staff.
Care Staff responsibilities
- Facility animal care staff are responsible for following all of the requirements for working with various hazards including receiving any medical clearances needed.
- If any concerns or questions about dealing with hazards, contact your facility manager or Animal Research Safety.