Prevention and Control of Laboratory Acquired Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) in Animal Experimentation.

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In Japan, an outbreak of laboratory infection of HFRS was first made public in November, 1978. Since then, this research group was organized, and both epidemiological and virological studies have been undertaken. Retrospective survey revealed that this type of HFRS already occured early in the 1970's. Since then, 126 human cases of laboratory acquired HFRS have been recorded in 22 facilities of Japan. Seroepidemiological sutudies revealed that laboratory rats exhibites high IFA titers against HFRS or related viruses at locations where HFRS patients occured. Researchers contracted HFRS more frequently than laboratory animal technicians or caretakers, although a caretaker died of HFRS. Inhalation of HFRS virus contaminated air in the animal room is mainly cause of infection with this virus. Wound infection during animal experiments is another important foute of infection. Infection of laboratory rats can occur by transferring animals from contaminated to other facility. Supply of the rats from contaminated colonies is the important and actual causes of infection of rats in animal facilities. Tissue fragments or cells of transplantable animal tumors are potential source of spreading the HFRS virus. Eradication of HFRS virus from contaminated can be achieved best by elimination of all animals, especially when human HFRS is associated with an infected laboratory rats. In some facilities, small number of human and rat sera have a low IFA titers. The real means of these low IFA titers are still remained to be resolved in future. in 1981, a guide-line was issued by our research group and governmental officials for protection of this type HFRS. Since then numbers of the patient decreased. The last patient was recorded at the end of 1984. On these successive facts, we emphasize that the prevention and control of laboratory acquired HFRS depend upon the knowledge and understanding of this disease among the biomedical researchers.