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Use of Animals in Research

Overview

The use of animals in VA research is a privilege granted to those investigators and programs that commit to meeting the highest ethical and regulatory standards. VA animal care and use programs must follow VA policy on the use of animals found in Handbook 1200.7, "Use of Animals in Research", which incorporates compliance with USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations and PHS Policy. All VA animal care and use programs are accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC, International). VA places great emphasis on the importance of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) in self-regulation and accountability of local programs. ORD support for field animal care and use programs is coordinated by the office of the Chief Veterinary Medical Officer (CVMO).

Mission and Activities

The primary mission of the CVMO's office is to provide professional and administrative guidance and support to VA field animal care and use programs. This is accomplished by phone and email consultations, periodic training sessions, and development of web-based support systems. IACUC support and training site visits to local programs can be arranged. A variety of representative documents are available, including memoranda of understanding with affiliates, VMO and animal facility supervisor position descriptions, and animal facility standard operating procedures. The CVMO provides a yearly summary of VA animal research issues at the annual meeting of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), typically on the Tuesday of the meeting at noontime. The office also provides support for research staff experiencing difficulties using the CITI website for research compliance training.

Contacts

Important Documents

• VHA Handbook 1200.7, Use of Animals in Research (842 KB, PDF)
• These October 2005 semi-annual IACUC self-review forms are the latest for use by VA IACUCs:
  *All forms are in MS Word format.
  • Forms 1, 2, and 3 together in one file: Semi-annual Self-Review Forms
  • Form 1, Semi-Annual Checklist
  • Form 2, Table of Deficiencies
  • Form 3, Post Review Documentation
• The following version 3 Animal Component of Research Protocol forms must be in use for any project that will submitted for consideration of VA funding:
  *All forms are in RTF format.
  • Main body and all appendices in one file
  • Main body
  • Appendix 1 (non-VA housing)
  • Appendix 2 (antibody production)
  • Appendix 3 (test substances)
  • Appendix 4 (ante spec collection)
  • Appendix 5 (surgery)
  • Appendix 6 (spec procedures)
  • Appendix 7 (patient areas)
  • Appendix 8 (explosive agents)
  • Appendix 9 (local use)

Required training for staff involved in the use of animals in research

VA web-based training requirements for animal research are found in section 8.k of VHA Handbook 1200.7, "Use of Animals in Research." The standard for acceptable coursework is as follows:

"ORD web-based training must be utilized on an annual basis to demonstrate compliance with Federal animal research training mandates, unless alternate and equivalent annual training approved by the CVMO has been adopted (see subpar. 8k[4]). Education goals for web-based training will be considered met when personnel are able to pass an exam that covers important topics in the training. The exam must be of sufficient difficulty to provide some assurance that important concepts have been learned."

If your station wants to utilize alternate training to satisfy this requirement, please contact the CVMO.

The web courses listed below are available free of charge to all VA programs at both the CITI website and the AALAS website through agreements. Contact the CVMO for more information about which site would best meet your needs.

Required training is as follows:

1. IACUC Members and IACUC support staff (IACUC administrators, coordinators, etc). Personnel that serve on or provide support to either a VA Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or affiliate IACUC that serves as the IACUC of record for a VA program must take the following web-based training annually:



Essentials for IACUC Members



2. Personnel who participate in or supervise research that involves laboratory animals. If personnel participate in or supervise animal procedures conducted at the VAMC, work with animals purchased with VA funds regardless of performance location, or work with animals during VA duty hours, regardless of location, they must complete the following web-based training annually:
• Working with VA IACUC (the non-VA version of the course may be acceptable in some situations; contact the CVMO as needed)

They must also complete species-specific courses relevant to the species involved in their work:

• Working with Cats in Research Settings
• Working with Dogs in Research Settings
• Working with Rats in Research Settings
• Working with Mice in Research Settings
• Working with Guinea Pigs in Research Settings
• Working with Rabbits in Research Settings
• Working with Hamsters in Research Settings
• Working with Gerbils in Research Settings
• Working with Swine in Research Settings
• Working With Non-Human Primates in Research Settings
• Working with Amphibians in Research Settings
• Working with Ferrets in Research Settings
3. Animal care staff. Animal care staff members should receive training appropriate for their responsibilities, and consistent with the training commitments in both the AAALAC Program Description and PHS Assurance. Some stations utilize the web coursework in item number 2 as part of the overall training program, but this is not a requirement in VA policy.

Animal Facility (Veterinary Medical Unit) renovation and construction design manuals

The VA Office of Construction & Facilities Management provides mandatory construction and renovation standards for VA animal facilities. The following design manuals that impact VA animal facilities are available in Microsoft Word format at http://www.va.gov/facmgt/standard/manuals_vmu.asp:

• Architectural. Architectural Design Manual for New Hospitals, Replacement Hospitals, Ambulatory Care, Clinical Additions, Energy Centers, and Outpatient Clinics, May 2006, 61 pages; see section 5.1.
• Electrical. Electrical Design Manual for New Hospitals, Replacement Hospitals, Ambulatory Care, Clinical Additions, Energy Centers, and Outpatient Clinics, March 2008, 154 pages; see section 6.19.
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
  • HVAC Design Manual for Veterinary Medical Unit Projects. June 2006, 58 pages; Notes: 1) Section 3.5 mandates room-based temperature and humidity sensors in animal rooms as well as a continuous monitoring system for alarms; 2) there are significant problems with the relative humidity specifications in section 2.2 that are corrected in Appendix 6-A of the February 2008 manual below.
  • HVAC Design Manual for New Hospitals, Replacement Hospitals, Ambulatory Care, Clinical Additions, Energy Centers, Outpatient Clinics, Animal Research Facilities, and Laboratory Buildings. February 2008, 348 pages; Notes: 1) There are many references to unique animal facility requirements throughout the manual, but Appendix 6-A contains many critically important design criteria; 2) Appendix 6-A includes a requirement that a redundant temperature sensing system be installed to shut down supply air in case the primary high temperature alarm system fails.
• Plumbing. Plumbing Design Manual for Veterinary Medical Unit Projects. February 2000, 21 pages.
• Sanitary. Sanitary Design Manual for Hospital Projects. June 2006, 7 pages.
• Auto Transport. Sanitary Design Manual for Hospital Projects. February 2000, 19 pages; see section 3.5 for reserved elevator factors.
• Interior Design. Interior Design Manual for Hospital Projects, Clinics, Domiciliary, and Nursing Home Projects, 9 pages; this manual does not address the special finish needs of the animal facility.
• Structural. Structural Design Manual For Hospital, Replacement Hospital, Clinical Addition, Domiciliary, Nursing Home, Psychiatric Building, Outpatient Clinic, and Veterinary Medical Unit Projects. June 2006, 6 pages; .

Some of the design manuals above reference sections in the 1993 Veterinary Medical Unit (VMU) VA Design Guide, which remains an important source of VA animal facility design criteria.

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