Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices

The Devil Facial Tumour Disease Project Team of the DPIWE is committed to providing
a safe and healthy working environment for its entire staff, contractors and volunteers.
These practices have been developed specifically to provide a safe working environment
for those involved in the investigations and management of Devil Facial Tumour Disease.

PRINCIPLES

These safe practices were developed using the DPIWE, Hazard Identification and Risk
Control Policy and Guidelines for OH&S risks and follow from the recommendations
that once a hazard is identified in a work area, reasonable effort should be made to rectify
the situation and reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

These safe practices have also been developed using DAFF, AQIS, Import Risk Analysis
Guidelines for control of exotic diseases.

The Risk Classification Worksheet developed by DPIWE, OH&S was used for the
identification of potential risks and analysis for management procedures.

These practices have been developed with two key risks identified.
These are: 1. The risk of spread of the condition from affected areas to non-affected
areas of Tasmania by research group members. (Animal Disease Risk)
and
2. The risk of zoonotic spread from affected Tasmanian Devils to
members of the investigation team. (OH&S Risk)

(There may also be some risk to Team members with the use of chemicals. These hazards
will be managed as in accordance with the MSDS attached as Appendices to this
document and the DPIWE Chemical Substances Safety Policy & Guidelines,
http://tod.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/tod.nsf/WebPages/ICOE-5ZR8ZS?open)

A matrix of Likelihood of occurrence and Consequence of occurrence were undertaken to

produce a Risk score for these general risk categories and from this it was decided that
intervention was warranted for many procedures undertaken by the team.

NB. Due to the currently unknown nature of Devil Facial Tumour Disease the risk
levels were assessed from a precautionary position and they may be found to be much
higher ratings than are required.

Nominated team leaders will be responsible for induction of all team members with the
intent and procedures outlined with in these Safe Working Practices.

1
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
The practices outlined may be altered in the future when more is known of the disease
and they will be reviewed six monthly.

The practices outlined apply throughout the state.

REFERENCES

The specific recommendations highlighted in this document were developed using the
principles and information provided from a number of key documents. These are:

1. Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan, AUSVETPLAN Operational Procedures

Manual, Decontamination, Edition 2, Version 2.1, 2000 which can be found at
www.aahc.com.au/ausvetplan/decfnl2.pdf

2. Australian Veterinary Emergency Plan, AUSVETPLAN Tasmanian Operational

Procedures Manual, Diagnostic Team Personal Decontamination, TOM, May 2004
http://tod.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/tod.nsf/WebPages/CPAS-5VL3YA?open

3. DPIWE<, Nature Conservation Branch, Animal Handling OHS protocols, DRAFT ,

March 2004.

4. DPIWE, Zoonosis and Animal Based Hazards

http://tod.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/tod.nsf/WebPages/JMMN-5RJ2Q7?open

It is recommended that team members obtain a copy of these documents and study the
specifics covered within these reference documents as part of the familiarisation and
induction to the adoption of these practices.

Other references.

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, AQIS, Import Risk Analysis

www.affa.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=614509C9-27CF-497E-
93090E11FB341F0D&contType=outputs

Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment intranet web site

EQUIPMENT

Equipment and resources for Personal and Vehicle decontamination:

Halamid/Halasept®
Quad Hygelene®
Virkon®
40 L Fresh water
2
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
2 x 3m x 2m Plastic sheets
2 x 10 L Bucket
2 x 30+L ‘Boot boxes’
Disposable overalls
Other disposable garments as required (eg hats, beard protectors)
Face masks
Disposable PM/rubber gloves
Disposable latex/nitrile gloves
Personal Soap
Nail brushes
Long handle Scrubbing brushes
Plastic bags
Red laundry bags with tags
Garbage bags
Biohazard waste bags
Pen, pencils and paper (preferably waterproof)
Facial tissues

Warnings:
Full-length overalls, dust mask, gloves and eye protection (eg shield or wrap around eye
goggles) must be worn when making up cleaning and disinfecting solutions.

Equipment and resources for trap capture and surveillance

4WD vehicle
Petrol jerrycans (for short range tank vehicles)
Traps
Virkon® & sprayer
Cleaning brushes
Waterproof gloves for trap-cleaning
40 L or more Fresh Water
String
Bait (lamb flaps)

3
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
Axe
GPS & cable to charge and download cable
Maps
Biopsy punches
70% ethanol
Drawing pins
Eppendorf tubes
Waterproof paper
Snaplock bags for diseased devil scats
Kit for sample collection (eg tissue biopsies and blood): 3 ml syringes, 19 gauge needles,
sodium heparin, lithium heparin vacutainer; biopsy transport medium in McCartney
tube, polystyrene esky
Sacks
Overalls for all personnel involved
Latex gloves
Microshield® in dispenser
Portable eye wash and mouth wash
Datasheets, clipboard, pencils, spare leads
Permanent markers
Digital camera (& charger & download cable)
Spare batteries
Callipers
Scales
Rubbish bags
Disposable Sharps container
Satellite phone
CDMA phone
VHF/UHF radio (at some sites)
Laptop Computer and battery charger

4
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
DFTD RESEARCH TEAM ACTIVITIES

The following activities are those covered under these safe work practices.

Driving to study site

Liaising with land owners/managers
Driving off-road between traps
Loading and unloading traps from trailer
Setting traps with bait
Recording position of traps with GPS
Checking traps
Transferring devils and quolls from a trap to a handling sack
Weighing animals in a sack
Measuring devils
Microchipping Devils and Spotted Quolls
Taking tissue biopsies and blood samples from devils
Snipping hair from tail tip of eastern quolls
Releasing devils and quolls from handling sack
Recording data
Cleaning trap with water and Virkon®
Cleaning callipers with Virkon® and rinsing with water
Transporting devils for sample collection by veterinary field staff
Entering data into computer

5
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
SAFE WORK PRACTICES

The following table is constructed in an attempt to present safe work practices that can be
adopted for a number of activities. These practices have been designed to reduce the two
key risks identified in the research project (see PRINCIPLES).

Practices Devils Other carnivores Other mammals

(quolls, cats etc.)
External Protection   -
(A)
Gloves   -
(B)
Dispose of bag  - -
(C)
Do not tattoo   
(D)
New, single use needles, punches   
etc.
(E)
Virkon®-scrub of instruments  - -
(F)
Chlorhexidine-scrub instruments -  
(G)
Cleansing Scrub of Devil traps   -
(H)
Virkon® Disinfection of trap  - -
(I)
Check Devil trap safety   
(J)
Personal hygiene   
(K)
Cleaning and disinfection for   -
movement between different
disease status areas of study
(L)
Storage of field collected animal   
samples
(M)
Separate animal handling for   -
‘Affected’ and ‘Non-affected’
areas
(N)
Veterinary sample collection   
under anaesthesia
(O)
 - Applies to - - Does not apply to

6
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
A. Clothing and footwear will be appropriate for the working environment. If close
examination and invasive sampling is required external protection must be worn.
These include protective overalls, water proof apron, face mask and eye
protection to reduce the likelihood of exposure to body fluids. (refer Personal
Protective Equipment and Clothing Guidelines,
http://tod.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/tod.nsf/WebPages/THAY-5E9842?open)

B. Wear surgical gloves while handling the animal, and dispose of these after single
use.

C. Dispose of any handling bag that has contained a devil, immediately after single
use. If it is impossible to acquire the requisite number of bags, dispose only of the
bags that have contained devils with open lesions or any signs of DFTD. Bags
that have contained apparently healthy devils should be scrubbed with Virkon®,
then soaked in Virkon® for at least 30 mins before rinsing, drying and reuse.

D. Do not tattoo the animal. Animals will be identified by inserting a microchip

under the skin. Use of widely compatible microchips (readable by ISO scanners or
equivalent) with low migration characteristics (eg Biobond® or equivalent) is
encouraged. For short term studies, hair clipping, dyeing or bleaching may be an
inexpensive option.

E. Do not reuse any sharp instrument which pierces the skin (eg needles, biopsy
punches) on more than one animal. After use dispose of it safely into a sharps
disposal container. The only exception to this rule applies to expensive
equipment that is being used exclusively on devils, which have been diagnosed
with DFTD by a vet. Such equipment should be sterilised through scrubbing with
Virkon®, followed by at least 30 mins soaking in Virkon®.

F. Scrub other instruments which have touched the devil (eg callipers) with 1%
solution Virkon® and soak them in Virkon for 5-10 mins (ideally 30 mins where
possible). It may be easier to have more than one set of instruments, so that one
can be soaking while another is in use.

G. Scrub other instruments that have touched the animal (eg callipers) with 0.02%
Chlorhexidine solution (eg Microshield® surgical handwash, c. 2 squirts per litre
of warm water).

H. If a trap has contained a captured animal, before re-setting the trap again it should
be scrubbed thoroughly with water to ensure no faeces or other animal-related
material remains on the trap (ie. dirty equipment will more easily entrap a
potential disease vector (eg virus, bacteria, tissue)). Wear rubber waterproof

7
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
 gloves and protective eye goggles or shield mask and protective overalls while
scrubbing traps to avoid waste water contact with skin and traumatic injuries.

I. For each trap from which you have released a devil, in addition to H (above)
spray the whole trap with Virkon® (500 ml/square metre of trap of 0.5% solution
weight by volume) leave for 30 minutes, rinse and leave to dry. Wear rubber
waterproof gloves and protective eye goggles or shield mask and protective
overalls while scrubbing traps to avoid chemical contact with skin.

J. Before setting the trap, check carefully to make sure there are no sharp
protrusions inside it from which an animal or team member could sustain cuts or
abrasions.

K. Apply rules of sensible personal hygiene, particularly after handling devils or

cleaning traps. Have available a surgical hand wash such as Microshield®.
Immediately disinfect and cover any open wound you may sustain, however
small. Take special care around animals’ open wounds, which may have the
potential to transmit disease and report any injuries to the accredited First Aid
officer assigned to the field team (refer First Aid Policy and Guidelines,
http://tod.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/tod.nsf/WebPages/THAY-5943TR?open)

L. When moving from a ‘Known Affected’ area to a ‘Known Clear’ area or

‘Unknown Status’ area in a single day it is essential to minimise the risk of
spreading any disease by cleaning and disinfecting any possible sources of disease
transfer. All surfaces that may have come in contact with affected animals must
be cleaned and disinfected. For vehicle and personal cleaning refer
AUSVETPLAN Operational Procedures Manual, Decontamination. All clothing
in contact with affected animals should be kept isolated from unaffected animals.
This is achieved by having clean overalls for each new area. These overalls can be
disposed of (if disposable) with in an biohazard waste bag or sealed in a Red
laundry bag before laundering for next use. All boots should be cleaned of gross
contamination and washed and covered in Virkon® before leaving the affected
area. These procedures should be undertaken at the end of each working day even
if members are not leaving the area.

M. Tissue, blood and any other samples collected whilst in the field should not be
kept in refrigerated appliances used for food storage. Samples should be best
collected and delivered to the analysing laboratory as soon as possible. If this is
not possible due to time and distance a 12Volt camping fridge or equivalent
apparatus can be used specifically for sample storage until delivery.

N. Separate sets of traps, handling bags and any other handling apparatus that will
come in close contact with animals, should be kept for ‘Clean’ and ‘Affected’
areas. Unknown status areas should be treated as ‘Clean’ until the status is known.

8
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney
O. If animals are to be anaesthetised all cleansing and disinfection protocols as
outlined above should be adhered to in addition, all instruments that are able to be
autoclaved should be cleansed in the field and autoclaved before further use.
Endotracheal tubes and induction face masks should be used once before
cleaning, disinfection and drying . Only induction masks should be used (if
necessary) more than once in the field after cleaning. These should be cleaned and
disinfected as stated above before use in a new area. Waste anaesthetic gases
should be ducted away from the sample collection team to outside the operating
area. All fixative agents should be handled as per MSDS recommendations.

APPENDICES

MSDS
A. Virkon®
B. Microshield®
C. Halamid/Halasept®
D. Quad Hygelene®
E. Isofluorane®
F. 70% Ethanol solution
G. 10% Formalin solution
H. Gluteraldehyde fixative

9
Tasmanian Devil Handling Safe Working Practices
Version 2, July 04
Document review date: December 7, 2004
Created by Pyecroft, Jones, Hawkins and Mooney