Library · Vet block

Rodent health monitoring. See the different approaches.

Of 15 facilities whose procedures we read, 6 have dropped live sentinel animals for PCR testing of rack exhaust dust (4) or of filters exposed to dirty bedding (2). 5 still rely on live sentinels alone, and 4 use both.

Open the Vet block See the form
Facilities compared
15, from their public procedures, October 2026
Ways it's done
4

01 / Rodent health monitoring

What the procedures reveal

Three findings a vet or facility manager would stop on.

6of 15

no longer use live sentinels for routine monitoring. At 4 of them, the documents date the switch to October 2021 or later.

7of 15

take a second look before acting on a positive: a retest, or a backup sample kept for it.

4of 15

state that the labs on the rack are told of a problem result.

02 / Rodent health monitoring

Where do monitoring programs part ways?

One path from the calendar to the labs on the rack, and the three points where the 15 facilities split.

  1. A calendar sets when each room is sampled

    Step · 15 of 15

    15 of 15

  2. How often is each room tested?

    Facilities split · 5 ways

    • Every quarter

      7 of 15Most common

    • Three times a year

      3 of 15

    • Set by the room's health level or use

      3 of 15

    • Twice a year, some rooms quarterly

      1 of 15

    • Once a year

      1 of 15

  3. What goes to the lab?

    Facilities split · 4 ways

    • Live sentinels

      5 of 15Most common

    • Exhaust air dust

      4 of 15

    • Both, chosen by room

      4 of 15

    • Bedding filters

      2 of 15

  4. A diagnostic lab tests it

    Step · 15 of 15

    15 of 15

  5. Who gets the results first?

    Facilities split · 4 ways

    • A vet

      3 of 15

    • Vet staff or a vet tech

      3 of 15

    • A manager or supervisor

      1 of 15

    • A health monitoring coordinator

      1 of 15

    Not stated · 7 of 15

  6. The labs on the rack are told of a problem result

    Step · 4 of 15

    4 of 15

Each dot is one of the 15 facilities whose procedure we read. Where one way clearly leads at a fork, it is outlined.

03 / Rodent health monitoring

What do facilities send to the lab?

The second fork, way by way: what is sampled and sent to the lab.

  • Live sentinels

    Purchased outbred mice or rats live on dirty bedding from the colony cages, then are bled or euthanized and tested.

    5 of 15

  • Exhaust air dust

    A filter in the rack's exhaust air, or a swab of the exhaust plenum, goes for PCR. No live sentinels.

    4 of 15

  • Both, chosen by room

    Live sentinels beside sentinel-free PCR, chosen by room, rack type or the vet.

    4 of 15

  • Bedding filters

    A filter sits in a cage that gets dirty bedding from every colony cage at each change. The filter goes to the lab, not an animal.

    2 of 15
Each dot is one facility whose procedure we read. Counted from public procedures, October 2026.

7 of 15 test every room quarterly; the rest range from once a year to monthly in a top barrier. 11 of 15 run a routine panel plus a larger one once or twice a year. The vet team gets the lab's results first at 6 of 15.

04 / Rodent health monitoring

What does a health monitoring record hold?

How many of 8 facilities' cards, labels and logs carry each field.

HM

Health monitoring sample

Used by, out of 8 facilities’ forms

  1. Planned
  2. Exposing
  3. Collected
  4. At the lab
  5. Results in
  6. Confirming
  7. Signed off
  8. Closed

The sample

  • Method *Dropdown

    Live sentinel · Bedding filter media · Exhaust air dust · Colony animal swabs

    for the workflow
  • Room *Link: Housing Room
    7 of 8
  • Rack *Text
    6 of 8
  • Species *Dropdown

    Mouse · Rat · Gerbil · Vole · Other

    for the workflow
  • Housing typeDropdown

    IVC rack · Static rack · Barrier · Quarantine

    for the workflow
  • PI or lab on the rackUser
    4 of 8
  • Strain or lineText
    2 of 8
  • Placed on *Date
    4 of 8
  • Collect by *Date
    2 of 8

Live sentinels opens when the workflow reaches it

  • Sentinel cage *Link: SoftMouse cage
    4 of 8
  • Sentinel animalsLink: SoftMouse animal
    for the workflow
  • First exposureDate
    2 of 8
  • Replace byDate
    for the workflow

Exposure log opens when the workflow reaches it

  • Cage changesTable
    2 of 8

Collection and shipment

  • Collected on *Date
    4 of 8
  • Collected by *User
    1 of 8
  • Sample types *Dropdown

    Exhaust filter · Plenum swab · Bedding filter · Blood spot · Feces · Fur swab · Oral swab · Whole animal

    for the workflow
  • Lab *Dropdown

    Commercial lab · In-house · Other

    for the workflow
  • Panel *Text
    for the workflow
  • Sent onDate
    for the workflow
  • Tracking numberText
    1 of 8

Results

  • Results *Table
    1 of 8
  • Outcome *Dropdown

    All negative · Positive, confirming · Confirmed positive · Not confirmed

    for the workflow
  • CommentsRich text
    for the workflow

Response opens when the workflow reaches it

  • ActionsChecklist

    Retest the same sample · Swab the exhaust plenum · Pooled feces by cage row · Limit room access · Tell the labs on the rack

    for the workflow
  • Labs told onDate
    for the workflow

Sign-off

  • Reviewed by *User
    for the workflow
  • Vet signature *Signature
    1 of 8
8 of the 15 facilities list what to write on a sentinel card, sample label, collection log or report. The other 7 describe the program without listing items.

7 of 8 record the room and 6 the rack, but 1 of 8 lays out results by agent, method and date. FELASA recommends a report with the agents, methods, lab and at least 18 months of results. 4 of 15 state that a label or result is written twice or more.

05 / Rodent health monitoring

Find your starting point

Answer yes or no to find the facilities that work like yours.

Question 1

Do you still buy live sentinel animals and give them dirty bedding from the colony cages?

See every question
  1. Do you still buy live sentinel animals and give them dirty bedding from the colony cages?
  2. Do you also test some rooms or racks without sentinels, by exhaust dust, bedding filters or swabs of colony animals?
  3. Do you test dust from the rack exhaust, with a filter or a swab in the exhaust plenum?
  • Live sentinels: You work like 5 of the 15, the most common way. The sentinel cage links to SoftMouse.
  • Exhaust air dust: You work like 4 of the 15.
  • Both, chosen by room: You work like 4 of the 15. A saved view grouped by method shows which rooms still use sentinels.
  • Bedding filters: You work like 2 of the 15. The exposure log replaces the dated, signed cage card.

06 / Rodent health monitoring

What do the rules ask for?

For mice and rats bred for research, the duty comes from the Guide in the US and the CCAC in Canada.

  • Animal Welfare Act regulations: they do not cover mice and rats bred for research (9 CFR 1.1).
  • The Guide, which PHS Policy applies to PHS-funded programs: colony health monitoring for rodents should be in place, by accepted methods, serology first, PCR among the others. If an agent is found, the vet chooses the treatment with the investigator.
  • CCAC guidelines (Canada): health monitoring must be in place, with SOPs that include pathogen surveillance, and programs should choose methods that use fewer sentinel animals.
  • FELASA (a recommendation): dirty-bedding sentinels spend 6 weeks or more in the unit, get at least 50% dirty bedding each week, and are replaced at least every quarter.

07 / Rodent health monitoring

How does Streamcell run it?

One record per rack or room for each testing period, whatever goes to the lab.

  1. Exposing

    Priya Sood signs the exposure log at each cage change on the rack where Noor Adler's ISH-1009 mice live.

  2. Collected

    A daily 8:00 check emails Jules Ferreira when the sample is due. Jules collects and ships it.

  3. Results in

    Entering the outcome emails the vet. A first positive moves the record to Confirming, opens the response checklist and posts to Slack.

  4. Signed off

    Robin Mace signs, which locks the results. If a positive is confirmed, Tell the labs on the rack emails Noor's lab.

Results arrive from the lab as they do now: someone attaches the lab's PDF and types the outcome. PIs can read results without changing them, so results on request become a saved view. Negative and positive outcomes run as two workflows, because Streamcell has no if-then step.

08 / Rodent health monitoring

The research behind this guide

We read the public procedures of 15 research animal facilities in the US and Canada, mostly universities, in October 2026, and recorded what each samples, how often and who sees the results. 8 list what their records hold, so the form's counts are out of 8.

Last reviewed

Built around your facility

Start from the Vet block

Sick animal reports, health cases, rodent health monitoring and the views a vet uses every day, as one package your team changes to fit.

Open the Vet block