Challenges and Realities of Setting up and Administering Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee in the Nigerian System Simeon I. B. Cadmus (DVM., Ph.D.) Professor of Veterinary Public Health 1 Chairman-Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
OVERVIEW 2 Food for thought Responsible officials Animal welfare Administrative challenges-To be discussed during the presentation Realities -To be discussed during the presentation Moving forward
YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND-Frank Sonnenberg 3 “There was a time when keeping your word held special significance. We took great pride in being of good character. Personal integrity was both expected and valued. That was a time when everyone knew each other’s family, and you wouldn’t do anything that would cast a shadow on your family’s good name. It was a time when integrity was instilled in children at a very early age and was viewed as instrumental in achieving success. The truth is, our world may have changed, but the importance of integrity has not. Your word is your bond. While we may not know everyone in our own town, the world is still smaller than you think. Create some bad news and you’ll learn this for yourself. ”
Impacts of our bad academic/research 4 conducts and activities May impact on our families and This may lead to our being blacklisted friends and thus affect us socioeconomically and psychologically May also affect the environment May negatively impact on funding where we work opportunities for our research/academic endeavors Ultimately affect our communities and country depending on the enormity of It will have reverberating negative the problems caused effects on our academic institutions
BODY RESPONSIBLE FOR 5 ANIMAL WELFARE
Animal Care and Use Research Ethics 6 Committee (ACUREC)-University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan, in order to expand the frontiers of knowledge through provision of excellent condition for learning and research and in line with global best practices in research involving the use of laboratory animals in biomedical science, established the ‘ Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee ’ on Friday 16 January, 2015.
ANIMAL WELFARE 7 Animal welfare is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well being, including proper housing, management, nutrition, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling, and, when necessary, humane euthanasia...”
COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITEE 8 A Veterinarian who is certified in laboratory animal medicine At least one Practicing Scientist who is experienced with research and training involving animals At least one Legal Practitioner who is experienced with legal issues involving animals At least one member of the public (layman) to represent general community interests in the proper care and use of animals
KEY MEMBERS NEEDED FOR EFFECTIVENESS 9 Veterinarian Other scientists from related backgrounds should include people from these various fields: Physiology/Biochemistry Pharmacy/Pharmacology Animal Science/Wildlife/Fisheries Medicine Statistics Microbiology/Virology
10 MISSION To provide a platform geared towards educating the scientific community on global best practices as it concerns humane handling and use of laboratory/experimental animals for research purposes.
11 VISION To achieve optimal environment for conducting experimental research involving laboratory animals with globally acceptable standards that is ultimately directed towards the wholesome benefit of animals, the research community and the society at large.
Key responsibilities 12 The Committee is saddled with the responsibility of providing oversight and assistance in ensuring compliance to all laws, regulations and policies governing the care and use of animals for research, teaching and testing.
Organizations that require “Institutional 13 Ethics Committee” Every institution carrying out animal based research All institutions engaged in using animals for teaching/training Institutions interested in advancing novel drug discoveries Institutions that need external/foreign funding to advance research/innovations
JUSTIFICATION OF ANIMAL USE IN 14 RESEARCH A There should be a clear scientific purpose and reasonable expectation that the research will: increase knowledge of the process underlying the evolution, development, maintenance, alteration, control, or biological significance of behavior. determine the replicability and generality of prior research. increase understanding of the species under study. provide results that benefit the health or welfare of humans or other animals.
Justification Continues 15 B. The scientific purpose of the research should be of sufficient potential significance to justify the use of nonhuman animals. C. In proposing a research project, the researcher should be familiar with the appropriate literature, consider the possibility of non-animal alternatives, and use procedures that minimize the number of animals in research (This is very important!!!!).
ANIMAL WELFARE (ENVIRONMENT, 16 HOUSING AND MANAGEMENT) Appropriate housing and management of animal facilities are very important to animal well-being; just as the quality of research data and teaching or testing programmes for which the animals are to be subjected to in relation to the health and safety of the personnel. Therefore, a good management programme provides for animal well-being and minimizes variations that can affect research results.
Factors to be be considered in planning for adequate physical & social environment, housing, space 17 management The species, strain, and breed of the animal and individual characteristics, such as sex, age, size, behaviour, experiences, and health.
18 The ability of the animals to form social groups with co-specifics through sight, smell and possibly contact, whether the animals are maintained singly or in groups.
19 The design and construction of housing.
20 The availability or suitability of enrichments and nutrients.
21 The project goals and experimental design (e.g. production, breeding, research, testing, and teaching).
22 The intensity of animal manipulation and invasiveness of the procedures to be conducted.
23 The presence of hazardous or disease-causing materials
24 The duration of the holding period.
ULTIMATE GOAL 25 Animals should be housed with the goal of maximising species- specific behaviours and minimising stress-induced behaviours. Thus, the environment should be appropriate to the species, its life history, and its intended use.
26 SOME BASIC REFLECTIONS ABOUT ANIMALS
The alternatives: The “ Three R ” tenet of Russell and Burch (1959) (The Holy Grail of Ethics in Animal Research) 27 Replacement Substitution of other models for animals (or substitution of a less sentient species with a more sentient one) Can the hypothesis be tested or the training be done with cell cultures, computer simulations, or other non-animal system? Reduction What is the minimum number of animals that can still yield statistically valid outcomes? Can you work with a statistician to determine this? Refinement What efforts are being made to eliminate or minimize animal pain and distress? Anesthesia, analgesia and alternate experimental design must be considered
Animal Freedom Freedom from pain and injury 28 or disease Freedom from hunger and thirst Freedom to express normal behavior FREEDOM OF ANIMAL Freedom from fear and distress Freedom from discomfort
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Inhumane Practices 32
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PREVENTION OF PAIN 35 In studies that require the animal to reach a moribund state or die spontaneously as the endpoint of the study, the earliest endpoint possible should be used to prevent pain or distress Ensuring that drug doses are correct and that the drugs used are not expired Ensuring that procedures to be performed on the animals are reasonable for that species Using appropriate anesthetics and analgesics for potentially painful procedures
36 Performing surgeries and procedures aseptically to prevent infection Performing only a single major survival surgery on any one animal, whenever possible Performing appropriate post-surgical care, including thermoregulation and fluid balance
CHALLENGES TO BE DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO 37 ANIMAL CARE AND USE IN RESEARCH CONDUCTS Institutional Apathy Available Institutional infrastructure Quality of Research Competence of Reviewers Reviewers’ Apathy
ALTERNATIVES TO USE OF ANIMALS 38 Computer Model software Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD) is used to predict the receptor binding site for a potential drug molecule. CADD works to identify probable binding site and hence avoids testing of unwanted chemicals having no biological activity. Structure Activity Relationship (SARs) computer programs. It predicts biological activity of a drug candidate based on the presence of chemical moieties attached to the parent compound.
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