Control and Eradication Programs for Six Cattle Diseases in the Netherlands

Abstract

Within the European Union, infectious cattle diseases are categorized in the Animal Health Law. No strict EU regulations exist for control, evidence of disease freedom, and surveillance of diseases listed other than categories A and B. Consequently, EU member states follow their own varying strategies for disease control. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the control and eradication programs (CPs) for non-EU regulated cattle diseases in the Netherlands between 2009 and 2019 and to highlight characteristics specific to the Dutch situation. In the Netherlands, CPs are in place for six endemic cattle diseases: bovine viral diarrhea, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, salmonellosis, paratuberculosis, leptospirosis, and neosporosis. These CPs have been tailored to the specific situation in the Netherlands: a country with a high cattle density, a high rate of animal movements, a strong dependence on export of dairy products, and a high-quality data-infrastructure. The latter specifically applies to the dairy sector, which is the leading cattle sector in the Netherlands. When a herd enters a CP, generally the within-herd prevalence of infection is estimated in an initial assessment. The outcome creates awareness of the infection status of a herd and also provides an indication of the costs and time to achieve the preferred herd status. Subsequently, the herd enrolls in the control phase of the CP to, if present, eliminate the infection from a herd and a surveillance phase to substantiate the free or low prevalence status over time. The high-quality data infrastructure that results in complete and centrally registered census data on cattle movements provides the opportunity to design CPs while minimizing administrative efforts for the farmer. In the CPs, mostly routinely collected samples are used for surveillance. Where possible, requests for proof of the herd status are sent automatically. Automated detection of risk factors for introduction of new animals originating from a herd without the preferred herd status i.e., free or unsuspected, is in place using centrally registered data. The presented overview may inspire countries that want to develop cost-effective CPs for endemic diseases that are not (yet) regulated at EU level.

Semi-Quantitative Biosecurity Assessment Framework Targeting Prevention of the Introduction and Establishment of Salmonella Dublin in Dairy Cattle Herds

“…In such cases, the effects of poor hygiene and lack of transmission barriers would overlap between the sections. Thus, it can be argued whether the low number of recommended experts (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) and the low correlation of opinions about the ranking and weights of the sections represent the real-life average situation [149,150].…”

“…Furthermore, increasing S. Dublin occurrence in cattle has been reported in different countries [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. S. Dublin is endemic in the cattle populations of many countries, and a few have initiated serological surveillance and control programmes for Salmonella in their cattle sectors [ 19 , 20 ]. More countries have control programmes for clinical salmonellosis in bovines but not active surveillance based on serology [ 21 ].…”