Suchergebnisse

To date more than 120,000 cows had to be killed in the United Kingdom, because they showed clinical symptoms of the bovine spongiform enzephalopathy (BSE), a new disease, which is commonly known as ''mad cow disease''. This article reviews the epidemiology, clinic, and diagnosis of the disease BSE and the physical and chemical characteristics of its causative agent. The probability of a transmission to man is discussed in view of the current knowledge and national and international legislation

Foot and mouth disease (FMD)was detected in a wild boar in Southeastern Bulgaria in December 2010. The occurrence and spread of the disease in wild cloven-hoofed animals may pose an unexpected and significant threat to FMD virus (FMDV)-free areas within and outside the European Union. So far, only one well documented experimental infection with FMD in wild boar has been published. In order to obtain more epidemiologically relevant data regarding the disease in wild boar we conducted an experiment with the 2010 Bulgarian FMDV type O isolate. Two young wild boar were challenged while two domestic pigs and two additional wild boar served as contact controls. While the domestic pigs developed severe clinical signs of FMD, the wild boar showed relatively mild course of the disease. Viremia started in contact wild boar 2 days post exposure (DPE) and lasted until 6 DPE. The virus shedding lasted until 9 DPE. On 27 DPE, when the animals were slaughtered, viral RNA was detected in lymphoid tissues and oropharyngeal fluid but no virus could be isolated. Commercial ELISAs and virus neutralisation tests detected antibodies against FMDV on 8 or 5 DPE, respectively. The data of the present study will help to understand FMD in wild boar populations and can be used in models to evaluate the potential role of wild boar in FMD epidemiology.