Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates by National Research Council of the National Academies

Author:National Research Council of the National Academies
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biology and Life Sciences : Lab Animal Research
Publisher: NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Published: 2003-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)

In a study involving a questionnaire-based survey of 550 persons working at 13 North American research institutions (Sotir and others 1997), a high frequency of needle sticks and mucocutaneous exposures (defined as animal-inflicted bites and scratches) was documented among persons working with nonhuman primates and their tissues. Over one-third of study participants were reported to have experienced needle sticks or mucocutaneous exposures while working with nonhuman primates, predominantly macaques but including at least six other genera. The study included serial serologic testing for SIV antibodies among study participants and considered whether there was exposure to SIV in the laboratory or to SIV-infected animals. Statistical methods were used to assess possible associations between workers’ job categories, job tasks performed, length of employment, work with HIV-2 and SIV, work with nonhuman primates, and the frequency and types of injuries sustained in the workplace.

Persons working with monkeys that were SIV-negative or whose SIV status was unknown were more likely to have sustained (or to have reported) needle sticks or mucocutaneous exposure involving blood, body fluid, or unfixed tissue than were those working with SIV-infected animals. Those study results suggested that increased awareness led to improved safety practices or alternatively to different reporting rates. Some injury-specific frequencies differed with job category, but in contrast with the previously discussed study (bin Zakaria and others 1996), increasing years of employment increased the likelihood of injury occurrence.

Analysis of survey responses showed that persons responsible for more invasive tasks with animals (such as phlebotomy, dental work, surgery, necropsy, and experimental inoculation) were at greater risk for needle stick injuries than persons doing noninvasive work (such as husbandry, sanitation, and routine medication) even when years of experience were taken into account. However, bite and scratch rates did not differ with task type. Those findings parallel observations of health-care workers at risk for bloodborne pathogen exposure in occupational settings and highlight opportunities for focused preventive educational programs, especially for some occupational groups (such as husbandry staff) that might be less informed about work-related hazards (OSHA 1999).

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