Natural pathogens of laboratory mice, rats, and rabbits and their effects on research
Open accessAbstract
Laboratory mice, rats, and rabbits may harbor a variety of viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal agents. Frequently, these organisms cause no overt signs of disease. However, many of the natural pathogens of these laboratory animals may alter host physiology, rendering the host unsuitable for many experimental uses. While the number and prevalence of these pathogens have declined considerably, many still turn up in laboratory animals and represent unwanted variables in research. Investigators using mice, rats, and rabbits in biomedical experimentation should be aware of the profound effects that many of these agents can have on research.
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The animals' provenance, health or immune status, and history of previous testing or procedures can influence their physiology and behaviour, as well as their response to treatments, and thus impact on study outcomes.
“The animals’ provenance, their health or immune status, and their history of previous testing or procedures can influence their physiology and behaviour, as well as their response to treatments, and thus impact on study outcomes.”
From Reporting animal research: Explanation and elaboration for the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 (2020) · cites this paper as [113]
The immune or microbiological status of the animals can influence welfare, experimental variability, and scientific outcomes.
“The immune or microbiological status of the animals can also influence welfare, experimental variability, and scientific outcomes [112–114].”
From Reporting animal research: Explanation and elaboration for the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 (2020) · cites this paper as [113]
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References 756 · Cited by 394
- Authors
- Baker, D. G.
- Affiliations
- Louisiana State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Baker, David G.
- Venue
- Clinical Microbiology Reviews
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Published
- 1998-04
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 231-266
- ISSN
- 0893-8512 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-6618
- PMC
- PMC106832
- OpenAlex
- W2142336651
- Cited by
- 394
- References
- 756
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 4.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Clinical Microbiology Reviews (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal testing and alternatives
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Microbial infections and disease research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Keywords
- laboratory mice, laboratory rats, laboratory rabbits, viral agents, bacterial agents, parasitic agents, asymptomatic infection, host physiology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animals, Laboratory, Bacterial Infections, Parasitic Diseases, Animal, Rabbits, Research, Rodent Diseases, Virus Diseases, Reproducibility of Results, Mice, Rats
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