Monitored Agents List

Notification of Outbreaks and Shipping Policy

1. Actions Taken for Excluded Agents

  • Containment procedures will be initiated to effectively isolate the area where the agent was found from all other Jackson Laboratory animal areas and support facilities.
  • Shipment of mice involved in the contamination (i.e., all mice housed in the animal room(s) where the contamination occurred) will be suspended immediately.
  • Within 2 business days of definitive diagnosis, a notice will be placed on our Web site, and notifications will be sent by first class mail or by fax to all institutions on our general JAX® Mice mailing list. Institutions which received mice from the affected area(s) during the previous three months will receive additional notifications to the Purchasing Contact on record by first class mail or by fax as soon as possible.
  • Any customer placing a new order for mice in the area affected by the contamination will be informed, at the time of order placement, of any shipping hold due to a contamination.
  • The agent will be eliminated from the affected area by one or more of the following methods: depopulation followed by repopulation from another animal area or recovery from cryopreservation; depopulation followed by rederivation; or test and cull. The method used will depend on the microbial contaminant (infectivity and biological or environmental persistence) and on the degree of spread within the affected area.
  • Following elimination of the contamination, the housing area will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to redeployment for animal housing.
Communications following a confirmed positive finding for an excluded agent

In the event of a confirmed positive finding for an excluded agent, the following communications activities will be conducted:

  • A notice will be sent to the general JAX Mice mailing list and posted on our website for at least six months from the original date of the notice.
  • As needed, we will post additional information or updates to the original notice on our website; in some cases, this information may be sent directly to the general JAX Mice mailing list, by mail, email, or fax.

2. Actions Taken for Non-tolerated Agents (N)

If any of these organisms are detected the following procedures are followed:

  • Positive results trigger a clinical investigation designed to eliminate all infected mice.
  • Shipping from the area with confirmed positive results is not stopped. Information about the investigation and outcomes is shared with customers as indicated below.
    • Customers who have notified Customer Service regarding concerns about a specific non-tolerated (N) organism will be notified at the time of ordering if an investigation is underway to eliminate this organism from a particular room.
    • Positive results are reported on the next issued Animal Health Report for the room, along with a footnote describing the status of any ongoing investigations.
    • Until the Animal Health Report is updated to show positive results, a notice containing details of the investigation and containment actions will be appended to the currently-posted on-line Animal Health Report for the affected area.

3. Actions Taken for Tolerated Agents (T)

If any of these organisms are found the following actions are taken:

  • No special efforts will made to eliminate the agent.
  • Mice from the area will continue to be shipped.
  • The presence of the agent will be reported on the Animal Health Status Report from the area.
Important: if there are concerns about agents that we include in the N or T categories and your institution will NOT accept animals with agents in these categories please inform us at the time of order placement.