title: Efficacy of Soiled Bedding Transfer for Transmission of Mouse and Rat Infections to Sentinels: A Systematic Review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This systematic review was conducted to gain insight into the efficacy of transmission of infectious agents to colony sentinels by soiled bedding transfer based on publications studying this subject in mice and rats. This information is essential to establish recommendations for the design of health monitoring programs which use sentinels to determine the microbiological status of laboratory animal colonies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen original articles retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and CAB abstracts met the inclusion criteria. The design of the studies varied substantially per infectious agent with regard to dose of soiled bedding, exposure time, and sentinel strains used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With our conservative criteria for effectiveness, soiled bedding transfer appeared to be effective for MHV, MPV, TMEV, Helicobacter spp., and fur mite infections and ineffective for Sendai virus. For other infectious agents, such as MNV, EDIM, MVM, SDAV, Clostridium piliforme, and pinworms, too few data were available to be able to draw robust conclusions on the efficacy of soiled bedding transfer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The identified evidence only pertains to a portion of the infectious organisms included in the FELASA 2014 guidelines. As many animal facilities design their health monitoring program according to these recommendations, additional studies are warranted to draw comprehensive conclusions on the effective transmission of the infectious agents listed in these guidelines by soiled bedding transfer.
authors: QM Diagnostics BV, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: W C C
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-0341
authors: WC
authors: de Bruin
authors: QM Diagnostics BV, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: E M E
authors: EM
authors: van de Ven
authors: Radboud University Medical Centre, SYRCLE at Central Animal Laboratory, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: C R
authors: CR
authors: Hooijmans
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000662:veterinary*; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007239:Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D051379:Mice; D051381:Rats; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance / Q000662:veterinary*