News
Fact sheet lists available diagnostics ASF and KVP
NVWA has published a practical factsheet that provides insight into early warning diagnostics available for animal diseases in pigs, such as African swine fever (ASF) and classical swine fever (CSF). The factsheet answers two key questions: 'When do you deploy early warning diagnostics?' and 'When do you report a suspicion?' Pig farmers and vets play an important role in recognising these animal diseases. They can be the first to signal to the NVWA that an animal may be infected.
Pig farmers and vets play an important role in recognising and reporting African and classical swine fever. In addition, they have the opportunity to use early warning diagnostics - low- threshold, without cost or consequences for the farm or business operations. The new factsheet includes a clear table that clarifies when the use of early warning diagnostics is important and how to act when there may be a suspicion. "With this information, we as stakeholders hope to increase the alertness of pig farmers and veterinarians as well as lower the threshold to send in sample for testing. Quick detection of a possible outbreak is essential," sayd Wageningen Bioveterinary Research expert Linda Peeters, head of the National Reference Laboratory for ASF/CSF. She was closely involved in drafting the NVWA factsheet.
Monitoring programmes
The factsheet describes the various Dutch monitoring programmes. These programmes are intended to demonstrate that the Netherlands is free of specific diseases; monitoring does not have the intention of detecting new infections.
There is a monitoring programme for CSF in pig farms (see diagram RVO1 – in Dutch). There is no monitoring programme for ASF in pig farms, because the current ASF strains cause animal death in most cases (mortality rate up to 90-100%). Often, infected animals die before antibodies that can be detected in monitoring have been formed.
Early warning diagnostics
Royal GD and some affiliated veterinary practices send all tonsils of pigs on which they perform autopsies to WBVR. These tonsils are examined by WBVR for the presence of ASF and CSF by PCR diagnostics. This examination is aimed at detecting yet undetected infections.
Veterinarians themselves also have the option of initiating early warning diagnostics (exclusion diagnostics) for ASF and CSF performed at WBVR in a low-threshold and free of charge manner. The factsheet provides all the necessary information to initiate this. It also describes that when it is used, there are no consequences for the farm and operations and no laboratory costs are charged.