Attachment 1 - PWS Hands-On ARU Training 2022.pdf

Performance Work Statement for NBAF Personnel Training with Live Animals

A. Background

NBAF has a need for a location to house and care for animals which will be used to facilitate a safe and compliant hands-on personnel training environment to allow personnel to train with non-animal training tools such as simulators, as well as live animals. Training will encompass animal observations, husbandry, and technical skills within a mock ABSL-3Ag, ABSL-4, and ABSL- 4Ag environment. NBAF has a need to train personnel which also affords them the ability to practice these skills outside of a containment environment. In this ABSL-1, ABSL-2, or non-containment environment, personnel are exposed to less risk. Additional (containment level) PPE such as suits, Tyvek coveralls, boots, double gloves, respirators, etc., may be added to the non-containment environment to allow training with these items.

In addition to the Animal Resource Unit, other units including but not limited to Biorisk Management and Safety, Health and Environmental Management should have the ability to observe all trainings conducted at the contract facility. The facility must be in compliance with the Animal Welfare Regulations, The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the Guide for the Use of Agricultural Species in Research and Teaching (the Ag Guide) as well as hold current active AAALACi accreditation status and USDA Registration.

B. Objectives

1. Location/Facility Requirements

The specific goal of this housing facility is to facilitate a safe and compliant hands-on personnel training environment to allow personnel to train with non-animal training tools such as simulators, live animals, as well as different types of housing and various equipment. USDA has a need for a location where NBAF veterinarians and contractors can teach, verify, and record hands-on animal husbandry and technical training during stand-up. The facility must be local (within 30 miles or less of NBAF), USDA registered as a research facility or teaching facility, AAALACi accredited, and capable of housing, but not limited to, swine (up to 400 pounds), cattle (up to 1500 pounds), sheep/goats (up to 300 pounds), and horses (up to 1600 pounds) as well as animals such as chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and mice that will be housed in primary enclosures/caging. Specific size, breed, and sex will be conveyed to the contractor at an agreed upon time prior to their usage based on NBAF needs and expectations of future protocols.

The schedule of training is expected to be no more than twice per month for 4-5 days at a time, consisting of up to 4.5-hour sessions, between Monday-Friday and the hours of 0900-1700.

Final schedule will be mutually agreed upon between parties.

Trainers will be NBAF VMOs, or other invited Subject Matter Experts in handling or technical aspects of the work to be trained. Trainers will provide equipment list with an ideal lead time of no less than 2 calendar weeks for supplies to be procured. If a supply cannot be found, contractor will identify suitable available alternative options and check with ARU supervisors to verify the alternative is acceptable. Trainers will perform a walkthrough of the space setup prior to training whenever feasible, ideally at a minimum of 3 days prior, to ensure rooms are set up as requested and equipment and materials needed are present. The first scheduled group may consist of just the ARU supervisory or management team, in order to provide the most organized training sessions thereafter.

The general group size of students/attendees would be divided so that there would be no more than 10 personnel present with no more than 5 individuals receiving training at one time.

Groups will be divided to attain smaller trainer:trainee ratios as well as small trainee:animal ratios. These ratios will vary with each species and procedure. Final animal numbers will be requested on a case-by-case basis per training session and will be reviewed and approved by VBRC’s IACUC.

Proper training and verification of training is vital to USDA’s mission to provide excellent animal care in the research and teaching environment. This facility will provide, newly hired and/or current animal care staff and research personnel, a hands-on training program to prepare staff to receive animals and have a baseline of standards for care and handling of research animals specific for NBAF. Using this time to prepare staff and interact in a dynamic, hands-on environment makes best use of public funds and ensures that only trained individuals will have contact with USDA-owned animals included in NBAF research.

The training program will include handling, husbandry, SOP review, and training with the following species and topics. All training would be consistent with best practices for low stress handling and to maintain excellent animal welfare. NBAF Veterinary staff will be the key instructors.

2. Animal Housing and Personal Protective Equipment

The contractor location will own and provide husbandry for animals housed on their premises for training purposes. Equipment and materials such as housing units, caging, animal transfer stations, and other large equipment may be supplied by NBAF, and if so, will need to be cleaned, sanitized, and decontaminated by the contract facility. The contract facility will perform needed preventative maintenance on NBAF equipment with ARU supervisor assistance as requested.

Animals should be housed in an environment similar to the conditions they will be exposed to when housed in NBAF. This will allow for a smooth transition of NBAF personnel from training outside to moving inside the facility. Personal protective equipment supplied should be similar to what will be worn by NBAF personnel within the containment footprint.

Animal numbers and the number of techniques performed on individual animals will be IACUC approved and based on potential for distress. For instance, handling and restraint may be performed more often on each individual animal than blood collection.

3. Personnel Training Activities and Equipment Needed

Courses would consist of the following types of activities with the following species:

a. Swine: 15-20, 40-50, and >75 pound animals (no less than 20 of each weight group over the course of this contract with a minimum of 10 during each training session, based on pen setup and facility capacity/design as well as IACUC approval):

i. Pigs will be used for demonstration of proper moving, catching, handling, restraint techniques, positive reinforcement and conditioning principles, physical exams, blood draws, additional body fluid sampling, and processing techniques such as ear tagging, with emphasis on low stress handling.

ii. Overview/discussion of NBAF husbandry and animal health check SOPs will be reviewed and demonstrated in the live animal environment.

iii. Pigs could be sold or repurposed for other research after this teaching program is completed

b. Cattle: Cattle, 250-500lb Holstein bull calves or steers (no less than 24 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 8 during each training session over the course of this contract, based on pen set up and facility capacity/design as well as IACUC approval).

i. Calves will be used for demonstration of proper handling, moving, catching, positive reinforcement and conditioning principles, physical exams, oral medication administration, blood draws, additional body fluid sampling, and processing techniques such as ear tagging or vaccination, with emphasis on low stress handling.

ii. Overview/discussion of NBAF husbandry and animal health check SOPs will be reviewed and demonstrated in the live animal environment.

iii. Availability of a head catch/chute system to demonstrate appropriate restraint of calves is required.

iv. Calves could be repurposed or sold after this teaching program is completed.

c. Sheep: Adult sheep of any breed (no less than 24 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 8 during each training session based on pen set up and facility capacity/design as well as IACUC approval).

i. Sheep will be used for demonstration of proper handling, moving, catching, positive reinforcement principles, physical exams, blood draws, additional body fluid sampling, and processing techniques such as clipping, ear tagging, oral medication administration, vaccination, etc.

ii. Sheep could be repurposed or sold after this teaching program is completed.

d. Rabbits – adult New Zealand White rabbits of either sex (no less than 24 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 8 during each training session based on pen setup and facility capacity/design as well as IACUC approval):

i. Rabbits will be used for proper demonstration of gentle handling, holding, restraining, positive reinforcement techniques, physical examination, medication administration, nail clipping, bleeding, additional body fluid sampling, and euthanasia via exsanguination under deep anesthesia or injectable euthanasia solution.

e. Guinea pigs – adult guinea pigs for handling and exam training (no less than 30 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 10 during each training session based on pen setup and facility capacity/design as well as IACUC approval):

i. Guinea Pigs will be used for proper demonstration of gentle handling, holding, restraining, positive reinforcement techniques, physical examination, medication administration, nail clipping, bleeding, additional body fluid sampling, and euthanasia via exsanguination under deep anesthesia or injectable euthanasia solution.

f. Mice – IVC housed laboratory mice, B6 or Balb/c, (no less than 30 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 10 during each training session based on IACUC approval)

i. Demonstration of handling, physical examination, cage changing, and other husbandry techniques by NBAF veterinary staff, injections, blood draws, medication administration, additional body fluid sampling, and euthanasia via CO2 and exsanguination.

g. Chickens – 3-5 week old chickens (no less than 24 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 8 during each training session based cage set up and facility capacity/design as as IACUC approval)

i. Handling, blood draw, additional body fluid sampling, medication administration, and health assessment techniques by NBAF veterinary staff, euthanasia via inhaled CO2 or injectable euthanasia solution.

h. Hamsters – IVC housed laboratory Syrian hamsters (no less than 30 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 10 during each training session based on IACUC approval)

i. Demonstration of handling, physical examination, cage changing, and other husbandry techniques by NBAF veterinary staff, injections, possibly blood draws, medication administration, and euthanasia via CO2 and exsanguination.

i. Horses: Adult horses of any breed, docile and acclimated to handling, tying, and restraint with a halter and twitch. Able to pick up all feet, stand quietly for exam.

Number TBD based on need. Non-terminal procedures only.

i. Horses will be used for demonstration of proper handling, moving, catching, positive reinforcement and conditioning principles, physical exams, oral medication, subcutaneous injection, with emphasis on low stress handling

j. Ferrets – 12 – 20 month old male and female domestic ferret (no less than 6)

i. Demonstration of handling, physical examination, cage changing, and other husbandry techniques by NBAF veterinary staff, injections, blood draws, medication administration, inhalant anesthesia and euthanasia via injectable euthanasia solution with secondary method followed by necropsy

k. Goats: Adult sheep of any breed (no less than 24 over the course of this contract with a minimum of 8 during each training session based on pen set up and facility capacity/design as well as IACUC approval).

i. Goats will be used for demonstration of proper handling, moving, catching, positive reinforcement principles, physical exams, blood draws, additional body fluid sampling, and processing techniques such as clipping, ear tagging, oral medication administration, vaccination, etc.

ii. Goats could be repurposed or sold after this teaching program is completed.

Additional training capability needed is a parking lot location to train on truck/trailer use, to include:

• Hooking up trailer

• Trailer safety o Loading, backing, parking, maneuvering truck and trailer

• Contractor should provide traffic cones and other materials necessary for training.

In cases where animals are euthanized as part of training, at least one from each group will be necropsied for education of trainees. Animal numbers may be altered as training demands change. Animals may be requested multiple times throughout the length of the contract to ensure thorough training of personnel.

The contractor must be capable of providing all necessary equipment and tools for the above species to include but not be limited to:

• Acquiring healthy animals through USDA registered vendors.

• Providing all veterinary and husbandry care for training animals.

• Basic animal needs such as penning, gating, housing, feed, water, enrichment, etc.

• Handling equipment, but not limited to:

o Pig boards o V-troughs o Swine Snare o Chute/headcatch o Rope halters of various sizes o Rabbit restrainers o Broome rodent restrainers for mice

• Required Uniforms, PPE:

o Scrubs o Tyvek o Facemasks o Gloves o Boots o Conducting all procedures in respirators (as requested including: N95, PAPRs) o Become familiar with positive pressure suits as needed o Expect typical sizes and if there are any outliers, ARU will convey information to the contractor

• Demonstration and teaching items such as, but not limited to:

o Syringes (luer lock, catheter tip, etc) and various sized needles Sharps handling o Balling guns o Blood collection/tubes o Clippers o Ear tag applicator (for large and small animals) o Ear tags o Nail/hoof trimmers o Equipment for sheering sheep o Anesthesia equipment (injectable and inhalant) o CO2 euthanasia equipment o Equipment to perform fecal flotations, urinalysis o Equipment to perform Packed Cell Volume (PCV)/Total Solids (TS) o Ultrasound

In addition, the following requirements must be met:

• Work with NBAF AV and team to plan and schedule on site training sessions.

• Provide a list of requirements of instructors and trainees that would be needed prior to on-site access to animals (training, OHSP requests, etc.)

• A separate room to perform necropsies away from the animal housing room

• Contractor would supply and provide animals, all routine husbandry needs, all veterinary care required, DEA controlled substances for euthanasia of larger species, and CO2 for mouse and chicken euthanasia

• Contractor would coordinate with ARU AV and VMOs in preparation of IACUC protocols and allow NBAF IACUC to review and concur with approved protocols

• Availability of staff (no less than 1 technician from contracting facility) present one day prior and also during each class to facilitate equipment, space use, etc.

• Typically, training will be done with the following primary and secondary species that are planned to enter NBAF: cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, chickens, rabbits, hamsters, mice, guinea pigs, however, based on new species plans of housing animals at NBAF. (i.e.

mink, ferrets, alpaca, feral swine), requests may be made to add training for such species.

• This contract will encompass a period of 12 months.