Institutions that receive federal funding to conduct animal research must provide an occupational health program for individuals who work with animals. This is a requirement of the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Workers who work with laboratory animals must be enrolled in the program not on the basis of contact hours or job title, but on the basis of risk associated with the work they perform.

 

Helpful Links

• UConn Health Occupational Health Surveillance Policy
• Safety concerns when working in animal areas
• Safety concerns with animals when working in open laboratories
• Compassion Fatigue

 

Assessing Risks

We’ve provided a Risk Assessment Analysis to help give you the information you need to be safe on the job. Click on the animal(s) that you work with to see a risk assessment typically associated with that species. Please note that this is intended to supplement, not replace, information and advice you may receive from Employee Health Services, Environmental Health and Safety, or the Biosafety Officer nor is it intended to be a complete risk assessment. This is a starting point only. Please contact Employee Health Services for information specific to your personal situation. Everyone should be provided the safest work environment possible.

 

Information

• How to Enroll in the Occupational Health Program: What you need to do to enroll in this mandatory program.
• Requirements and Guidelines: Occupational Health Program requirements, guidelines, and general information.
• Risk Assessment Analysis: Learn more about your risks when working with animals.

 

What You Need to Know When Working with Laboratory Animals
Asthma and Allergy in Animal Handlers Avian Tuberculosis Bites and Scratches Cat Scratch Disease Cercopithecine Herpesvirus 1 (Herpes B Virus) Cryptosporidiosis Ebola/Marburg/Filoviruses Enteric Pathogenic Bacteria General Information	Hanta Virus Leptospirosis Lymphochoriomeningitis Virus Newcastle Disease Physical Injury Psittacosis Staying Healthy in the Animal Facility Toxoplasmosis Tuberculosis

 

Cercopithecine Herpesvirus 1 (Herpes B Virus) Links
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention article with good, general information about this disease and a number of current references. The National Institutes of Health has a training video on working safety with primates. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Recommendations for Prevention and Therapy of Herpes B Virus	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Resources for Herpes B in Handlers of Macaques Collecting Non-human Primate and Human Samples for Processing for Cercopithecine Herpesvirus 1 Exposure at the UConn Health (PDF)

Reference Books

• The National Research Council publishes animal care guidelines and standards in The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
• The National Research Council publishes occupational health and safety guidelines in Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Research Animals.
• The National Research Council publishes guidelines in Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also publishes guidelines for Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories.
• The National Research Council publishes guidelines in Emerging Animal Diseases.
• The National Institutes of Health publishes the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.