University of South Florida

Division of Comparative Medicine
“…contributing to a greater reverence for life.”

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Comparative Medicine and University Health Administration provide personnel working with animals with occupational health and safety information and services.

Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Animals

Occupational health and safety principles require that personnel caring for and/or using animals know the hazards associated with their work, understand how these hazards are controlled, have safe practices, and use protective supplies and equipment.

The report linked below emphasizes that a risk assessment should be performed.

• Occupational Health & Safety in the Care & Use of Research Animals

Health and Risk Assessment: Before beginning animal research, personnel must be familiar with the health risks associated with the species involved. Use the risk assessment tool linked below.

• RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL

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New research/animal care personnel must complete the form linked below.

• Health and Risk Assessment for Employee Safety in the Care and Use of Animals       

Personnel with duties that require entry into animal facilities (e.g., physical plant, building services, IACUC personnel, etc.) must complete the form linked below.

• Personnel Entering Animal Facilities Health & Risk Assessment     

Individuals determined to be at risk as a result of an assessment must also complete the form linked below.

• Comprehensive Health History & Assessment       

At-risk individuals are provided services for documentation/verification of immunization against rabies, rubella, rubeola, varicella, hepatitis B, and diphtheria/tetanus. Documentation of a PPD skin test for tuberculosis, and, if the PPD skin test is positive, documentation of a negative chest radiograph are provided by Health Administration.  

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Student Teaching Laboratories/Classes: IACUC applications describing teaching or training laboratories must assure the IACUC in writing that they or their designated IACUC-certified staff will continually directly supervise the students, and that prior to the lab commencing, will discuss with the students the potential risks and hazards associated with their involvement in the laboratory involving animals.  All attending students will then complete a Student Safety in Teaching Laboratories Involving Animals form, which the PI will sign and provide to Comparative Medicine before the lab commences.  

Annually, all personnel involved in animal care and/or use, or personnel who enter animal facilities as part of their duties, are offered the opportunity to declare any change in duties or change in health conditions that may require additional occupational health care services.

This declaration opportunity occurs during the annual recertification or during the annual reassessment of occupational health and risk, using the appropriate form linked below.

•  Request for the Annual Re-Certification of Research Personnel        
  
  
•  Request for the Annual Recertification of Comparative Medicine Employees        
  
  

The following information should help personnel working wiht animals understand safe practices, and the common hazards associated animal work.

       • Staying Healthy

Laboratory Animal Allergy and Asthma

• Allergy and Asthma in Animal Handlers
  
• Laboratory Animal Allergy
  
• Preventing Asthma in Animal Handlers
  
• Occupational Health and Safety in Biomedical Research

Occupational Health and Safety Notes

• Allergy & Asthma	• Anthrax	• Aquatic Pathogens
• Balantidiasis	• Brucellosis	• B-Virus
• Campylobacter	• Cat Scratch Fever	• Cryptosporidiosis
• Dermatomycosis	• Dog & Cat Parasites	• Enteric Bacteria
• Enteric Yersiniosis	• Giardiasis	• Hantavirus
• Hepatitis A	• Influenza	• Leptospirosis
• Lyme Disease	• Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis	• Measles
• Newcastle Disease	• Orf Disease	• Personal Hygiene
• Physical Injury	• Plague	• Pox Diseases
• Psittacosis	• Q Fever	• Rabies
• Rat Bite Fever	• Salmonellosis	• Shigellosis
• Staying Healthy	• Tissue Use ONLY	• Toxoplasmosis
• Tuberculosis		• Tularemia

Potential Zoonotic Diseases

Zoonosis information from the Center for Disease Control Disease Information Page:

• Campylobacter	• Cryptosporidiosis	• Hantavirus
• Listeriosis	• Lyme Disease	• Plague
• Rabies	• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever	• Salmonellosis
• Shigellosis		• Zoonotic Parasites

• Zoonotic Diseases listed by Animal Reservoir  
  
• Zoonotic Diseases listed by Disease
  
• "Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings, 2007"  
  
• U.S. Air Force Public Health - Zoonotic Diseases  

Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories

Herpes B Virus in Nonhuman Primates

• Herpes B case at Yerkes
  
• Herpes B in pet monkeys

Working Safely

• Working Safely with Nonhuman Primates          (Alternate Site)
  
• Working with the Laboratory Dog
  
• NIOSH - "Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic & Other Hazardous Drugs..."

Please address questions to CompMed@research.usf.edu, telephone (813) 974-9796, fax (813) 974-9432; IACUC@research.usf.edu, telephone (813) 974-7106, fax (813) 974-7091.