[The ZEBET-database on alternative methods to animal experiments in the Internet - a contribution to the protection of experimental animals] [Article in German]

Abstract

In February of the year 2000 ZEBET (German Centre for the Documentation and Validation of Alternative Methods) at the Federal Institute for Consumer Health Protection and Veterinary Medicine (BgVV) put the ZEBET-database on alternative methods to animal experiments on the Internet in English via DIMDI, the German Institute for Medical Documentation and Information (http://gripsdb.dimdi.de/engl/guieng.html). The access is free, moreover DIMDI´s complete service is available to visitors of the ZEBET-database. The ZEBET-database contains documents on alternatives to testing in animals, which have been carefully evaluated by ZEBET's staff according to the "3R"s-concept established by Russel and Burch in 1959. Therefore, methods documented in the ZEBET-database must meet at least one of the following criteria: "replacement" of an animal experiment by a non-animal method, "reduction" of the number of animals used, "refinement" of an experiment by minimising pain and suffering of animals. In addition, the ZEBET-database provides information on the current stage of development and validation of a method and on the acceptance for either scientific or regulatory purposes. Each document is characterised by the following criteria: the title of a method, keywords, assessment, summary and bibliographic references. To search DIMDI´s-database and host-system the grips software has to be used. Examples are given for searching in the ZEBET-database. Currently 125 alternative methods are meeting the criteria of the ZEBET-database. 50 of them are available online on the internet via DIMDI, the remaining 75 documents will be available by the end of the year 2000. International fellow organisations, e.g. FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments) in the UK and CAAT (Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing) in the USA, have established links on their web sites to provide visitors free access to the ZEBET-database.