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2026-10-29

Naming Genetically Engineered Mice (Part II): From Being Understandable to Being Written Correctly

2026-10-29

How should a multi-disease composite mouse model be constructed? Let’s take a look at the CKM approach.

2026-08-12

2026 CKM Guidelines Released: Chronic Diseases Enter the Era of Integrated Cardiorenal-Metabolic Management—It’s Time to Rethink Animal Models

2026-08-12

A Guide to Safe Mouse Handling | Manual on Mouse Transport Protocols and Troubleshooting

The Impact of Biological Hazards on Laboratory Animals

　　Laboratory animals differ from ordinary animals in that their breeding is strictly confined to highly sterile environments. Consequently, their immune functions are often compromised or underdeveloped. While attention is typically focused on their housing and production conditions, the conditions of use and experimentation are frequently overlooked. For example, during housing, they may be kept in sterile isolators, laminar flow cabinets, or other clean environments; yet during experiments, they are often transferred to standard laboratory settings, general animal rooms, or even corridors, hallways, and offices. Such abrupt transitions from a clean environment to a conventional one expose them to numerous pathogenic challenges. Coupled with their inherently limited disease resistance, they become highly susceptible to illness and mortality. Moreover, when laboratory animals fall ill, they can pose significant risks to human health—particularly in the case of zoonotic diseases such as hemorrhagic fever, tuberculosis, rabies, bacillary dysentery, and parasitic infections, which directly threaten public health.

　　It is often complained that the animals at a certain institution are poorly maintained and tend to die easily when used. On the contrary, the higher the animal’s grade and the cleaner its rearing conditions, the more susceptible it becomes to disease when suddenly transferred to a standard environment.

　　Animal experiments inevitably involve pathogen‑infection studies and form the foundation for generating infectious animal models. For example, AIDS animal models require monkeys, influenza virus is used to infect mice and ferrets, tuberculosis models employ mice, guinea pigs, and monkeys, while hepatitis models utilize tree shrews, transgenic mice, and groundhogs, among others.

　　Different animal species exhibit varying susceptibilities to distinct pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. In other words, certain pathogens—such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—will not cause disease when introduced into common laboratory animals like mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, or monkeys. To date, with the exception of gorillas, which can be transiently infected by HIV without developing clinical disease, no other animal species is capable of acquiring human HIV or progressing to AIDS. Consequently, researchers must carefully review the existing literature when designing animal models to avoid repeatedly infecting non‑susceptible species, as this not only causes unnecessary suffering to the animals but also yields no meaningful results.

　　Furthermore, the animals used may harbor various microorganisms to differing degrees—unless SPF or germ-free animals are employed. Before initiating an infection, it is essential to determine whether the animals carry pathogens that are identical to or similar to those being studied. If such pathogens are present, they can significantly confound experimental outcomes; for instance, pre-existing immune status and antibody responses may lead to inaccurate results or erroneous conclusions. This practice also risks the unnecessary use of innocent animals, causing harm. Moreover, if the animals harbor zoonotic pathogens, they may pose biosecurity risks to personnel, warranting close attention.

　　It has been reported that, in influenza virus infection experiments using mice, other mice housed in the same room became infected after 10 days, and the researchers themselves also developed symptoms. Therefore, animals used in infectious disease experiments must be kept under strict isolation to prevent the spread of infection to other animals.

　　The most common scenario is that laboratory animals lack adequate facilities and equipment, and improper handling of contaminated animals leads to biological hazards affecting the environment, the animals themselves, and personnel. In fact, national regulations classify pathogens into four risk groups based on their level of hazard, with Groups 1 and 2 designated as highly pathogenic agents. All pathogens must be handled in biosafety laboratories of the corresponding level—Levels 1 through 4—to ensure safety.

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