Watch out for Aujeszky’s

The recent discovery of Aujeszky’s Disease in pigs in the Pyrenees Atlantic region of France reminds us that we cannot take the absence of notifiable diseases for granted. The resurgence of old, major diseases is always possible, warns Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to pig-breeding company ACMC Ltd.

Despite the risk, Great Britain still retains the geographical advantage of a wide ‘moat’. Importation of stock from Europe — if it is to take place at all — must therefore be carried out under very strict controls and always under veterinary supervision, he advises.