GENERAL ANIMAL UNIT SERVICE ALAVA UNIT

• Air conditioning system in the Animal Unit to ensure suitable conditions for the upkeep of research animals.
• Quarantine area.
• Experimentation area for non-infectious animals divided into four sectors: rats, mice, amphibians and lagomorphs.
• Treatment and experimental work area equipped with inhalatory anaesthetic equipment.
• Administrative and service area.

1.- Distribution of installations

The installations consist of the following:

a) Animal and material reception area.
b) Office of the person in charge and secretary's office of the Animal Unit.
c) Quarantine area with two rooms of 9 m²  each, separated by a double reception door and by a door of the following section or area. d) Non-infected animal area: consists of 6 rooms of 9 m² each and another of 18 m².
e) Service area: consists of 6 rooms set aside for:

• Emptying and cleaning cages
• Washing cages and other materials, with large stainless steel sink with hot and cold water
• Fodder and bedding warehouse
• Warehouse for clean cages and other miscellaneous materials
• Changing room, toilet and shower
• Location of cold equipment
• Autoclave.

f) Infected animal area: consists of 4 separate rooms of 9 m² each.
g) Treatment and experimental work area: consists of 4 rooms of 9 m² each, equipped with worktop and sink.

2. Description of the installations

The floor of the Animal Unit is made of rough stoneware. There are drains in the central hallway and in the rooms.  
The doors are made of white lacquered aluminium and the windows have thermal double glazing.   
There are 6 taps along the central hallway, to which hoses can be connected for cleaning purposes.    
The walls are covered with white tiles from the floor to the ceiling.   
The installations consist of centralized fair conditioning and filtering equipment  which reaches all the rooms, these being equipped with thermostats.
The Animal Unit has 5 fire extinguishers   in addition to two fire hoses. There is an emergency exit at the end of the hallway.

The area where the Animal Unit is located is free of any noises that could alter the behaviour or physiology of the animals.

3. Existing equipment and features

• Cages for large rodents
• (rabbits) and small rodents (mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters and gerbils)
• Cage shelving for small rodents
• Metabolic cages for small rodents
• Automatic water supply systems to the rabbit cages.
• Centralized air conditioning and filtering system, with double emergency circuit and insulated conduction systems.
• Material for cleaning cages and installations, industrial vacuum cleaner, 4º C refrigerator, -20º C freezer,
• PC Pentium 4 HT PC computer and bubble jet printer, with Internet connection.

• Gas extraction cabin.
• Leica M320 surgical microscope.
• FST 18000-50 sterilizer.
• Stoelting 55310V microinjector.
• Volvere Vmax micromotor.
• Digital Midgard Precision Current Source (Stoelting).
• Kopf stererotaxic equipment.
• Inhalatory anaesthetic equipment.

4.- Animal register

A register of the entry and exit of all animals subject to experimentation is kept, providing details of the origin of the animals, number, species and breed or stock, health report issued by the official animal supplier, and the scientific procedure carried out. This register is subject to annual approval by the Veterinary Inspection Dept. of the Livestock Service of the Provincial Council of Alava.

The number of animals stalled varies throughout the year, depending on user needs.