The 2014 FELASA recommendations:

“Not all agents can be easily transferred [to the sentinel] via soiled bedding (e.g. LCMV, Sendai virus, Pasteurella pneumotropica) or exhaust air (e.g. Helicobacter spp., mouse rotavirus, mouse parvovirus)”....“The testing of exhaust filters by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods may also be considered for monitoring exhaust air from individual cages or an entire IVC rack."

FELASA working group on revision of guidelines for health monitoring of rodents and rabbits: Mähler et al. 2014, Vol. 48(3): 178-192

Filter / Environmental Sampling Tools

Testing options

Non-Terminal Sampling

3 sample types

SEROLOGY + PCR

• No animal transport
• Non-terminal sampling
• Reduces sentinels
• Survey colony animals

Multi-Sampling
 

3 sample types

SEROLOGY + PCR

• No animal transport
• Non-terminal sampling
• Reduces use of sentinels
• Survey colony animals
• Environmental samples only for agents that don’t transmit well to sentinels (FELASA, 2014)

Duo Sampling
 

2 sample types

SEROLOGY + PCR

• No animal transport
• Non-terminal sampling
• Reduces use of sentinels
• Reduced workload
• Allows for earlier detection
• Survey colony animals
   

Rack Testing (EDX)Sampling

1 sample type

PCR

• No animal transport
• Non-terminal sampling
• Reduces use of sentinels
• Reduced workload
• Allows for earlier detection
• Survey all animals