Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates (2003) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
2. Background and Context for Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates
2. Background and Context for Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates
Pages 9-20
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 9... ...
Primates are used in diverse projects, including research in infectious diseases, cancer, neuroscience, heart disease, nutrition, and reproduction; drug development and safety assessment; and behavioral studies (Sibal and Samson 2001~. The steady and widespread use of nonhuman primates strongly suggests that they will continue to be important animal models for a number of human diseases.
|
From page 10... ...
The importance of an OHSP in any laboratory animal care and use program is highlighted in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NRC 1996~. The Guide identifies the essential elements of an OHSP, although more specifically in the context of animal care and use: hazard identification and risk assessment; personnel training; use of personal protective equipment; facilities, procedures, and monitoring; medical evaluation and preventive medicine; and addressing animal experimentation that involves hazards.
|
From page 11... ...
IMPLEMENTING THE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM Responsibility, Authority, and Accountability A successful OHSP begins with strong administrative support. The senior official at the institution must understand the health and safety issues related to working with nonhuman primates, support the development and implementation of policies to safeguard workers, communicate the importance of OHSP participation to them, ensure that suitable funding and other resources are available to implement and maintain the program, designate appropriate staff to serve on the design and implementation team, and identify the individual or office that will manage the OHSP.
|
From page 12... ...
Information gathering is particularly important when research programs include novel infectious agents or viral vectors on which little reference information is available. The senior official, through reports provided by the research directors and staff, the IACUC, the EHS and OHS directors and staff, and the NHP director and animal care staff provides the highest level of oversight by ensuring that problems identified by others in the institution are resolved (Figure 2-1~.
|
From page 13... ...
Table 2-1 shows some of the key factors involved in identifying hazards and then conducting a risk assessment. Risk assessment should be used to manage identified hazards, avoid or minimize potential exposures, and guide treatment if an exposure occurs.
|
From page 14... ...
HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH NONHUMAN-PRIMATE BEHAVIOR Personnel working with nonhuman primates should receive basic training in nonhuman-primate behavior. Understanding the behavior of primates assists personnel in predicting the animals' actions and identifying potential hazards.
|
From page 15... ...
Depending on the primate species and the target audience, the training program should address zoonotic diseases of primates, ergonomic hazards, methods of reporting injuries, first aid, follow-up health care, and principles of primate behavior. One-on-one training by supervisors is critical to tailor the information conveyed so that it is specific to the task and species to which the trainee will be exposed.
|
From page 16... ...
, as well as squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys, till monkeys, capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, woolly monkeys, sakis, and uacaris, which are collectively known as rebids (Cebidae)
|
From page 17... ...
Like prosimians, however, they resist restraint vigorously. Capuchins have excellent manual dexterity and manipulative abilities; these characteristics have resulted in their occasionally unlocking their enclosures and getting free in an animal holding room.
|
From page 18... ...
are important in conspecific communication. A lack of knowledge or understanding of the visual signals on the part of people working with macaques can lead to the inadvertent communication of mild threats, such as through direct eye contact and jerky arm movements, and the primates might respond to these perceived threats aggressively.
|
From page 19... ...
However, each of the components of the behavioral management program also poses its own OHS challenges for personnel. A key way in which a behavioral management program can improve worker safety is by reducing atypical behavior expressed by nonhuman primates.
|
From page 20... ...
Further, it should be noted that microbial growth can persist on enrichment devices after sanitation in a commercial cage washer (Bayne and others 1993~. Because the provision of environmental enrichment is a required aspect of captive-primate husbandry, staff with a variety of expertise may be involved in the behavioral management program.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.