What must be considered regarding air pressure in an animal facility?

In an animal facility, maintaining appropriate air pressure is crucial for both the safety of the animals and the staff, as well as for containing potential pathogens. The best practice is to maintain negative air pressure inside animal rooms while having positive air pressure in the surrounding areas.

This setup prevents the escape of airborne contaminants, allergens, or pathogens from the animal rooms into the rest of the facility. By using negative pressure, air flows into the animal rooms from the outside, ensuring that any potential aerosols or contaminants remain contained within those rooms. This containment is particularly important for facilities housing animals that may be sick or involved in research requiring biosafety measures.

While positive air pressure inside animal rooms could help keep external contaminants out, it would also risk allowing any pathogens from animal rooms to seep out into the hallways or other areas. Equal air pressure throughout the facility may not provide sufficient control over contamination, and relying on high air pressure solely to prevent odor is not a primary function of air pressure management in laboratory animal facilities. Thus, the consideration of negative air pressure inside rooms while maintaining positive pressure outside aligns with best practices in laboratory animal facility management.