Description
Material provided: Infected mosquitoes with the possibility for physical access for end-users
Unit definition: 1 mosquito infection experiment
Biosafety Level: CL2/CL3
Installation name: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA)
Website: CReSA
Description of the facility
The Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA) is a research centre integrated within the Institute for Research and Technology on Food and Agriculture (IRTA). CReSA’s mandate includes conducting research in animal health, mainly focused on diseases of pigs, ruminants, poultry and zoonotic diseases transmitted by vectors. CReSA has animal (1200m2) and laboratory (300m2) CL3 facilities, and facility for insect rearing (with stable culicidae colonies). This allows conducting experimental studies with risk group 3 infectious agents in farm animals (swine, ruminants, poultry) as well as in laboratory animals (rodents, rabbits, ferrets), and vector (culicids) studies.
IRTA is involved in both research and surveillance activities dealing with different arboviral diseases such as West Nile fever, Rift Valley fever, Dengue, Chikungunya or Zika. Current surveillance activities are based on virological and entomological surveillance programs for arboviruses performed in Catalonia (NE Spain).
Available vectors
Experiments will be conducted with Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens colony stablished at our installation.
Users’ own mosquito colony/strain of interest might be hosted in the lab for the duration of the experiment, upon specific agreement.
Services offered
1 Unit is an experiment to a dedicated CL3 lab to undertake pathogen infections on Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens for different viruses (Zika, chikungunya, dengue, West Nile virus, Usutu virus and Rift Valley fever virus) provided by the end-user and eventually to get 50 mosquitoes exposed to the selected virus.
The unit of access offers the rearing of the mosquitoes necessary for the experiment and preparation virus stock. Experimental infection with arboviruses will be done by technicians and researchers for completion of the assays and the user when necessary.
Equipment
CL2/CL3 confined space is equipped with:
- Biological Safety cabinet, type 2
- CO2 incubator
- Incubator
- Climate Chambers
- Microscope
- Binocular
- Refrigerated centrifuge
- – 20 °C degree freezer and refrigerator
- Waterbath, Polytest 8, Bioblock
- Refrigerated table
- Artificial feeding equipment, Hemotek
- microinjector CL3 facilities
- – 75°C degree freezer
- FACSAria sorter cytometer
- small and large animal boxes for experimental infections for experimental infections
For more information, please contact us.