Volume 61 (2011) Issue: 2011 No#2-3

Management and control program for suppression and eradication of Classical swine fever in Serbia

Author(s): Nedić D, Tešić M, Baltić M, Plavšić B, Tajdić Nada, Mirilović M, Rajković M

Keywords:Classical swine fever, Economics, Programme of control

Classical swine fever (CSF) has been present in Serbia for a long period of time as an endemic disease, and it occurs with lesser or greater intensity from year to year. Since it is a highly contagious disease of domestic and wild pigs, the outbreaks of the disease causes severe consequences for animal welfare, livestock production and economic losses to the national economies in countries where it occurs. Therefore, CSF has a great epizootiological and economic importance to the swine production, primarily because of trade restrictions for live pigs and pork products. CSF eradication and control programmes are generally based on vaccination strategies in countries with endemic occurrence of CSF or non-vaccination policies in contries wich successfully eradicated or are free of CSF. Whatever the general eradication stategy is in place, in the case of an outbreak of CSF the stamping-out method is used for suppression and eradication of the disease, with strict implementation of specific veterinary-sanitary measures in the infected and surveillance zones, clearly defined by legal provisions. In the period before 2006, there were certain regions in Serbia where CSF occurred almost every year, including regions where pig farming was not the primary branch of animal husbandry. Pig identification and implementation of vaccination, as well as the control of trade of pigs from infected areas to other parts of the country were not very successful. Due to the serious losses inflicted by the disease, a new Programme of CSF control was adopted in 2006, which inter alia included the obligatory identification of pigs, registration of pig holdings and free of charge vaccination of all susceptible animals in the country, as well as the implementation of other statutory measures, including obligatory evidence of veterinary activities in the national Veterinary information system. The results obtained in the period after the implementation of the Programme of CSF control (2007, 2008 and 2009) indicate a positive impact on the reduction of outbreaks of CSF, as well as on the reduction of prevalence (p<0.001). Also, the effectiveness of vaccination of pigs in 2007 compared to the period before and after the implementation of the Programme was the highest (97.78%), as well as the costs of its implementation.