Laboratory Outbreaks of LCMV
The presence of LCMV in laboratories may cause serious long-term repercussions to worker safety. In 1989, an outbreak among humans occurred in a US cancer research institute that studied the effects of various therapeutic and diagnostic agents in animal models. Such agents had been developed in the animal care facility, which periodically screened sentinel animals for extraneous infection. Due to an oversight, no sentinel animals were monitored from August 1988 to March 1989. When testing resumed, LCMV antibodies were found in the oldest sentinel hamsters. Several workers reported symptoms consistent with LCMV infection, leading to an investigation. Blood samples were obtained and tested for LCMV antibodies. Of the 82 workers that were tested, seven had definite serologic evidence of past LCMV infection, and two were hospitalized for an acute febrile illness. All seven reported direct contact with the animals at the institute.
An additional hazard associated with LCMV in laboratories misleading experimental results. Interference with research may involve:
- tumor induction due to polyoma virus, and mammary tumor virus in the mouse, and with transplantable leukaemia in the guinea pig and the mouse. Infection is associated with depression of cellular immunity in the mouse. Rejection of cutaneous grafts or transplantable tumors may be delayed. In addition, infection will increase the sensivity of the mouse to ectromelia virus and to bacterial endotoxins.
Reported outbreaks have decreased in recent years, perhaps due to improved biohazard management in laboratories. However, it is possible that sporadic cases have been overlooked because of the wide range of clinical presentations. Clare A. Dykewicz, et al. recommend vigilant screening laboratory animals to be used in research facilities either through serum samples or cell line aliquots, as well as ensuring adequate ventilation in housing areas and use of appropriate sanitation products. Other practices to reduce cross-contamination in rodents include washing hands or changing gloves between animal care activities, thoroughly decontaminating cages before reusing them, and avoiding housing healthy rodents in the vicinity of potentially infected rodents.
Read more about this topic: Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
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