A serological survey to evaluate contemporary prevalence of viral agents and Mycoplasma pulmonis in laboratory mice and rats in western Europe

To evaluate current prevalence rates of 24 viruses and of the bacterium Mycoplasma pulmonis, the authors retrospectively surveyed serological data obtained from laboratory mice and rats housed in more than 100 western European institutions. Serum samples were submitted to the authors' institution for testing between January 2007 and June 2008. The prevalence of an infection was defined as the percentage of tested samples that yielded positive results for a specific agent. In mice, the most commonly detected infectious agents were murine norovirus (prevalence of 31.8%), mouse hepatitis virus (5.5%), mouse rotavirus (1.7%) and parvoviruses (1.0%). In rats, parvoviruses (12.1%) and M. pulmonis (3.6%) were the most prevalent infectious agents. Most rodent parvovirus infections could be attributed to mouse parvovirus in mice and to rat minute virus or to Kilham rat virus in rats. These data suggest the importance of up-to-date animal health monitoring programs and should stimulate the scientific community to further improve the microbiological quality of laboratory rodents.