View Full Version : ! RodentPro - Official Statement from company
Tekpc007
07-31-12, 05:56 PM
Bad Guy RodentPro- Zoonotic disease warning - FaunaClassifieds (http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=334751)
Not good , Just a FYI...from the thread posted.
The CDC was looking for people who had purchased rodents from Rodent Pro, particularly in May of this year.
Rodent Pro rodents were found to be diseased with Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, which is a zoonotic disease with potentially serious consequences, especially to those who are immune suppressed and pregnant women. You can google this disease and see the CDC information about it.
infernalis
07-31-12, 06:17 PM
Bad Guy RodentPro- Zoonotic disease warning - FaunaClassifieds (http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=334751)
Not good , Just a FYI...from the thread posted.
The CDC was looking for people who had purchased rodents from Rodent Pro, particularly in May of this year.
Rodent Pro rodents were found to be diseased with Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis, which is a zoonotic disease with potentially serious consequences, especially to those who are immune suppressed and pregnant women. You can google this disease and see the CDC information about it.
I will contact them before I say a word.
I advertise and do business with Rodent Pro, so I will go straight to them before I react.
Wildside
07-31-12, 06:23 PM
I will contact them before I say a word.
I advertise and do business with Rodent Pro, so I will go straight to them before I react.
Way to lead Good Sir! I take everything I read on fauna lightly. Their BOI is infiltrated with wimps and trolls.
Tekpc007
07-31-12, 06:25 PM
Well i would read the thread , several of their employees were infected . It would be good to know the truth and if its legit , then shame on them for not informing their customers. They will likeley be sued so are being very hush hush about it. Just trying to help , alot of people store their rodents in the freezer with people food which could be an issue.
marvelfreak
07-31-12, 06:55 PM
Well i would read the thread , several of their employees were infected . It would be good to know the truth and if its legit , then shame on them for not informing their customers. They will likeley be sued so are being very hush hush about it. Just trying to help , alot of people store their rodents in the freezer with people food which could be an issue.
I got my last order from them around May. All i know is i keep all of mine in a plastic tub separated from every thing else and non of us have been sick. I am the only one that even touches them. Just like with my snakes i use hand sanitizer before and after. I only have enough for one more feeding. I was thinking about ordering more, but i think i'll hold off for now. My buddy Shawn been getting his from a couple who breeds rats if need be i'll get some from them.
I also think i am going to get a second freezer just for my rats.
Becky Goings
07-31-12, 08:47 PM
If the CDC's website lists investigations, which they should if they're looking for people who were potentially exposed, this isn't true. There's nothing on the CDC's website about RodentPro. And, the call to get rid of frozen rodents is off base. The virus likely couldn't survive the host dying, much less the freezing. Do we wash our hands or use sanitizer? Of course. It's good common sense.
I don't do business with this company and I am in no position to have an opinion on whether this may be true or not. But, this has at least been an eye opener to me about potential zoonotic diseases that may be coming from my snake's food, even if the chances of infection are rare. I never even thought about it. I have always kept my frozen rodents in a freezer bag inside a paper bag in my deep freeze along with other food. I may start to rethink my practices. Of course I wash my hands and use proper hygiene, and it's not like I'm going start getting paranoid over this virus, but it still helps to know about a potential risk.
As for this virus surviving freezing, according to a LCMV biosecurity sheet, it can survive being frozen with liquid nitrogen. I will post the quote along with the link to it's source.
Special Hazards: Contaminated tissue cultures represent a potential hazard. Contaminated cell lines passaged in nude mice have resulted in at least 8 laboratory-acquired LCMV infections to personnel working with the mice. Tumors may acquire LCMV as an adventitious virus without obvious effects on the tumor. The virus may survive freezing and storage in liquid nitrogen for long periods. When infected tumor cells are transplanted, subsequent infection of the host and virus excretion may ensue.
source [PDF]: www.occupationalhealthprogram.ucsf.edu/Forms/LCMV_Final.doc
Also, I am no scientist, but if contaminated tissue can pose an infection risk, than can't a dead infected animal also pose a potential risk, seeing as they are usually frozen right after being killed? Or, how does that work?
infernalis
08-01-12, 03:24 AM
I don't do business with this company and I am in no position to have an opinion on whether this may be true or not. But, this has at least been an eye opener to me about potential zoonotic diseases that may be coming from my snake's food, even if the chances of infection are rare. I never even thought about it. I have always kept my frozen rodents in a freezer bag inside a paper bag in my deep freeze along with other food. I may start to rethink my practices. Of course I wash my hands and use proper hygiene, and it's not like I'm going start getting paranoid over this virus, but it still helps to know about a potential risk.
As for this virus surviving freezing, according to a LCMV biosecurity sheet, it can survive being frozen with liquid nitrogen. I will post the quote along with the link to it's source.
source [PDF]: www.occupationalhealthprogram.ucsf.edu/Forms/LCMV_Final.doc (http://www.occupationalhealthprogram.ucsf.edu/Forms/LCMV_Final.doc)
Also, I am no scientist, but if contaminated tissue can pose an infection risk, than can't a dead infected animal also pose a potential risk, seeing as they are usually frozen right after being killed? Or, how does that work?
All I have to say about it is this, they run a clean facility, their animals are top notch, I have never once thawed out any of their product and questioned the quality or health of the rodent or chick, they all looked great.
FC BOI seems to be a place for whiners.
Sometimes a legitimate issue gets addressed, but a lot of times people go overboard, and just like any forum or wiki article, blog or whatever any weirdo with a PC can type whatever brain vomit they want to.
Tekpc007
08-01-12, 05:15 AM
seem this article is about the incident : Farm World – weekly farm newspaper source for ag news, classifieds, auctions (http://www.farmworldonline.com/news/NewsArticle.asp?newsid=14991)
rodent pro is not mentioned by name so I'm hoping Infernalis can talk to his contacts there and confirm it all.
From the Article :
After BOAH received the call, Dr. Lovejoy was on the road to southern Indiana the very same day the call came into the office. She found that the person affected with LCM worked at a commercial rodent production facility. The facility, which employed 52 works, was made up of four different buildings, housing a grand total of 156,000 adult mice and 13,500 adult rats, not including babies. The business produces, processes and packages live product and frozen product, much of which is contracted to exotic animal farms and zoos.
Dr. Lovejoy found that 13 of the facility’s employees were positive for LCM, nine reported that there were ill and six sought medical care.
All I have to say about it is this, they run a clean facility, their animals are top notch, I have never once thawed out any of their product and questioned the quality or health of the rodent or chick, they all looked great.
FC BOI seems to be a place for whiners.
Sometimes a legitimate issue gets addressed, but a lot of times people go overboard, and just like any forum or wiki article, blog or whatever any weirdo with a PC can type whatever brain vomit they want to.
I hope you didn't misunderstand my response Wayne. Like I said, I don't know this company and have nothing to say about them. My post was more about learning about this potential risk, be it from any source, since I had no idea about this disease coming from rodents. I apologize if it came across as anything else (or, if I misunderstood your response, sorry about that, lol).
KORBIN5895
08-01-12, 08:28 AM
Like anything else on the BOI, people are free to read information here and form their own opinions. There is no 'we', it is not necessary that all of us have the same opinion about either business issues or health issues.
There are two separate issues here: How Rodent Pro handled this issue, and the level of risk people face on exposure to lymphocytic choriomeningitis in general.
The problem is people are just jumping to conclusions. No one but the op has actually fingered rp in this. Even the article me that's been linked doesn't name names. Also there is more than one commercial rodent breeder in southern Indiana. American rodent is from there also .
Here is what I have dug up. Sorry if it has been posted all ready.
Farm World – weekly farm newspaper source for ag news, classifieds, auctions (http://www.farmworldonline.com/news/NewsArticle.asp?newsid=14991)
this reads as follows.
By MEGGIE. I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Busy and nerve-racking could only be the words to describe the month of June for the foreign animal disease (FAD) diagnostic team with the Indiana Board of Animal Health.
Dr. Jodi Lovejoy, district 8 field veterinarian with BOAH, can attest since she heads up the FAD division for the agency and has been on the road for three different, quite serious cases, investigating, collecting tissue samples, consulting with livestock producers and protecting public and animal health.
Just another day on the job for Dr. Lovejoy.
The most interesting case and the one that had the Board of Animal Health in a bout of both shock and awe and the occasional burst of uncomfortable laughter was a Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis outbreak in southern Indiana.
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis known as LCM or LCMV is a rodent-born viral disease that affects nearly five percent of the mice population. Humans exposed to fresh mice or rat urine, dropping and saliva can become quite ill, Lovejoy explained. While some humans do not show clinical symptoms, others show biphasic symptoms meaning that there are two phases of symptoms - the first is flu-like including chest pain and testicular pain. The second phase of symptoms includes meningitis, fever and severe headache. Lovejoy also added that pregnant women with LCM can spontaneously abort the fetus or the child will have birth defects and if the affected patient transplants an organ, the transplant recipient may become pass away, instantly.
The tip to an LCM case rang into BOAH’s office on May 2, when the agency was contacted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
“A very astute doctor noticed the symptoms for LCM, so he tested for it and sure enough … so he contacted the CDC right away,” she said.
After BOAH received the call, Dr. Lovejoy was on the road to southern Indiana the very same day the call came into the office. She found that the person affected with LCM worked at a commercial rodent production facility. The facility, which employed 52 works, was made up of four different buildings, housing a grand total of 156,000 adult mice and 13,500 adult rats, not including babies. The business produces, processes and packages live product and frozen product, much of which is contracted to exotic animal farms and zoos.
Dr. Lovejoy found that 13 of the facility’s employees were positive for LCM, nine reported that there were ill and six sought medical care.
She sampled a total of 1,820 mice and rats - 399 rats tested all of which were negative and 1,491 mice, 296 of which tested positive. There was an infection rate in the mice of 21 percent, determined Lovejoy.
She quickly wrote a quarantine for each building, putting a halt on sales, production and packaging.
Lovejoy, who worked closely with the owner of the facility, said that 20,000 to 30,000 mice and rat products were shipped per day, five days a week.
“This isn’t a common disease, so we weren’t sure how to proceed,” said Dr. Lovejoy, adding that six state and federal agencies were involved in the quarantine including Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Indiana Department of Health, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the county health department, the CDC and BOAH. “The agencies quickly worked together to develop a game plan.”
Lovejoy said that if all mice and rats be were to be depopulated in all four barns, the buildings would be cleared and disinfected, then BOAH would lift the quarantine on the facility.
“Luckily, they did all their own depopulating and disinfecting, it worked out well, they were the experts,” she said, adding that OSHA required the employees to wear coveralls, foot wear, a mask and hoodie. “It was a huge nightmare they had to go through. We’re talking about thousands of rats, and aisle after aisle of boxes of mice. They ended up handling the trays (that housed the mice) three to four times during disinfection and depopulation for thousands of rats and mice.”
Lovejoy added that all the mice and rats were buried and they burned the litter.
“When we went back for an inspection, we found 12 mice running loose,” she said. “I remember the manager telling me that they couldn’t get every mouse. I said you have no other choice. The feces, the litter, they are contaminating the facility. We advised them to poison the water and that seemed to remedy the situation. We lifted the quarantine on July 11.”
In addition to the BOAH investigation, Lovejoy mentioned that the local county health department is requesting the shipping records from the facility.
“So we’ll continue to examine how this infection started,” she said.
Lovejoy, who worked in close contact with the facility’s owner, said that he estimated $750,000 worth of losses due to the quarantine and that it would cost $400,000 to repopulate.
“We can’t dream this stuff up,” said State Veterinarian Bret Marsh. “We’re just so fortunate to have such a great team here standing ready to deal with these kind of issues. And this is certainly a unique case – we’ve never seen anything like this.”
7/19/2012
Ted Adams @ RR
There are a couple of things I want to point out in this article. First the bold shows how you can contract lmv.
Next the underlined italics would jus suck.
infernalis
08-01-12, 08:46 AM
I hope you didn't misunderstand my response Wayne. Like I said, I don't know this company and have nothing to say about them. My post was more about learning about this potential risk, be it from any source, since I had no idea about this disease coming from rodents. I apologize if it came across as anything else (or, if I misunderstood your response, sorry about that, lol).
It is not your response at all, I am just trying to dispel any panic before it starts.
No one I know personally has had any problems either, and my forward way of thinking is that without proof, anything else is hearsay.
The title of the thread my easily scare someone into not doing business with Rodent Pro.
Tekpc007
08-01-12, 08:52 AM
I called RP this morning and they confirmed it was them , i spoke to Casey who works there. he would not go into detail and took my number for someone to call me back . I suggest you call them youself to confirm.
CK SandBoas
08-01-12, 08:53 AM
I have been using rodentpro since I've started owning snakes of my own, which is going on 8 years now, and I've never had a problem with any of my orders. I'm actually expecting an order either today or tomorrow from them. Am I concerned? I will say yes, a little, but like wayne said, without solid, concrete evidence, stating that the infected animals indeed were found at rodentpro, then it is hearsay.
KORBIN5895
08-01-12, 09:00 AM
As long as you don't let the rats pee on you and you don't lick or sniff the turds you should be fine.
CK SandBoas
08-01-12, 09:04 AM
As long as you don't let the rats pee on you and you don't lick or sniff the turds you should be fine.
Well, I won't be doing that myself, but thanks for putting that image in my head.....
I believe we have that proof now. It seems like there is no cause for alarm with the rodents going forward as they have remedied the problem (and at no insignificant cost). However, if you have rodents from them in your freezer, I would consider getting rid of them. Definitely doesnt seem like its worth the risk of infection; LCM sounds pretty nasty.
CK SandBoas
08-01-12, 09:16 AM
I did notice that after I posted my previous response. To be on the safe side, I will toss the remaing stock I have in my freezer.
marvelfreak
08-01-12, 01:07 PM
I have a question can this disease affected snakes in anyway?
jaleely
08-01-12, 08:07 PM
I've read that it shouldn't affect the snakes, and the risk to humans from frozen is small. But, still, no licking or rubbing poo and pee on you, you know hehe
beardeds4life
08-02-12, 09:05 AM
I have 0 experience with rodent pro but I would like to point out now would be a great time to start a frozen rodent business while a main competitor is out.
DeesBalls
08-02-12, 09:10 AM
so whats going on with this, should i NOT feed my rodents i just got 2 weeks ago at the columbus show???? if i have to toss all of those away i will be severly upset :( (over $150 order)
infernalis
08-02-12, 09:17 AM
As long as you don't let the rats pee on you and you don't lick or sniff the turds you should be fine.
Pretty much.. We all know to wash our hands at feeding time.
I take my stuff out and thaw it on a plate, wash my hands as soon as I am done touching the product, and then I use tongs after that.
This simple common sense practice ensures that any risks are going to be minimal.
It also reduces getting bitten. Snakes and all forked tongue Lizards smell in surround stereo, so they can home in on even the slightest trace of prey odour on your hands or fingers.
Good hygene is just as important as good husbandry.
beardeds4life
08-02-12, 09:20 AM
How do you clean the plate before using it again?
KORBIN5895
08-02-12, 09:30 AM
I have 0 experience with rodent pro but I would like to point out now would be a great time to start a frozen rodent business while a main competitor is out.
Nobody is going to trust a new business right now. All this will do is drive rodent prices up and flood the existing big companies.
so whats going on with this, should i NOT feed my rodents i just got 2 weeks ago at the columbus show???? if i have to toss all of those away i will be severly upset :( (over $150 order)
Do you plan on likening there butt? Only mice were infected so your rats will be fine.
DeesBalls
08-02-12, 09:45 AM
Nobody is going to trust a new business right now. All this will do is drive rodent prices up and flood the existing big companies.
Do you plan on likening there butt? Only mice were infected so your rats will be fine.
not really lol... only mice were infected? sorry didnt know that...
KORBIN5895
08-02-12, 11:20 AM
Yes. 21% of the mice tested positive and none of the rats.they killed all of their mice off and started over. This is setting them back $1.15 million dollars. Again it is tansmited through pee and poop. So don't go tasting any of those funny looking chocolate ball that are left in the bag and don't tub the mice on any open wounds.
StudentoReptile
08-02-12, 11:43 AM
You mean those weren't chocolate chips?! :shocked:
Tekpc007
08-02-12, 05:18 PM
- RodentPro's Official Statement Pertaining To LCMV (http://www.kingsnake.com/blog/archives/952-RodentPros-Official-Statement-Pertaining-To-LCMV.html)
beardeds4life
08-03-12, 06:49 PM
I read that then came here to link it lol
156,000 mice at that facility, with around a 20% infection rate, three months since the last test, and only 14 customers were effected? Wow, that's an impressively lucky outcome for Rodentpro actually. I'm sure it doesn't seem that way when they had to kill them all off, but it could've been much worse.
Shmoges
08-03-12, 09:26 PM
I believe we have that proof now. It seems like there is no cause for alarm with the rodents going forward as they have remedied the problem (and at no insignificant cost). However, if you have rodents from them in your freezer, I would consider getting rid of them. Definitely doesnt seem like its worth the risk of infection; LCM sounds pretty nasty.
Why? Is it a protein based virus that can withstand freezing? If not then why throw away my expensive food?
Wildside
08-04-12, 07:35 AM
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/15469677.jpg
totheend
08-04-12, 11:43 AM
Why? Is it a protein based virus that can withstand freezing? If not then why throw away my expensive food?
Yes, it can make it through freezing.
Why? Is it a protein based virus that can withstand freezing? If not then why throw away my expensive food?
As totheend stated, yes it can survive freezing apparently. But again, this is only applicable to mice from that particular time period (March - May 2012). As most people on here actually feed rats instead of mice, I should've stated that more specifically before.
infernalis
08-04-12, 10:28 PM
Dear RodentPro Customer:
This statement is to inform you that during May, 2012, RodentPro learned that a portion of the mouse breeding colonies at one of its suppliers tested positive for Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis virus, known as LCMV. This particular facility had tested negative for LCMV as recently as February, 2012 during a routine screening. As a result of the positive LCMV findings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took immediate steps to quarantine the facility and required the supplier to take measures to ensure that the facility was returned to a virus free condition. The CDC determined that mice that may have been exposed to LCMV produced at that facility were shipped prior to diagnosis to fourteen of RodentPro's customers, all of whom have been contacted by the CDC. All rats produced at that facility tested negative for LCMV. No rabbits, guinea pigs, chicks or quail were produced at that facility. We are currently not purchasing any products from this supplier.
RodentPro would like to stress that the finding of LCMV at the before mentioned facility is an isolated incident that occurred at only one of numerous locations utilized by RodentPro to produce its products. This incident did not involve any RodentPro products produced at any other facilities.
RodentPro's top priorities are the health and safety of our customers and employees and the welfare of our animals. We have worked closely with the CDC and other governmental agencies in resolving this issue with the above supplier.
We are closely examining every aspect of our production processes to determine enhancements we can make to our procedures in our efforts to further ensure our ability to provide safe feeder animals.
We apologize for any hardships that may have been caused by this incident. We value our relationship with you and are committed to do everything we can to provide you with safe and high quality products.
Sincerely,
Kevin Bryant
President - RodentPro.com
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