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Repository R 1: Scores on dimension values and weight on dimension from 38 international experts. Repository R2: Country Benchmark scores from 38 international experts.

The COST action “Standardising output-based surveillance to control non-regulated diseases of cattle in the European Union (SOUND control),” aims to harmonise the results of surveillance and control programmes (CPs) for non-EU regulated cattle diseases to facilitate safe trade and improve overall control of cattle infectious diseases. In this paper we aimed to provide an overview on the diversity of control for these diseases in Europe. A non-EU regulated cattle disease was defined as an infectious disease of cattle with no or limited control at EU level, which is not included in the European Union Animal health law Categories A or B under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2002. A CP was defined as surveillance and/or intervention strategies designed to lower the incidence, prevalence, mortality or prove freedom from a specific disease in a region or country. Passive surveillance, and active surveillance of breeding bulls under Council Directive 88/407/EEC were not considered as CPs. A questionnaire was designed to obtain country-specific information about CPs for each disease. Animal health experts from 33 European countries completed the questionnaire. Overall, there are 23 diseases for which a CP exists in one or more of the countries studied. The diseases for which CPs exist in the highest number of countries are enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhoea and anthrax (CPs reported by between 16 and 31 countries). Every participating country has on average, 6 CPs (min–max: 1–13) in place. Most programmes are implemented at a national level (86%) and are applied to both dairy and non-dairy cattle (75%). Approximately one-third of the CPs are voluntary, and the funding structure is divided between government and private resources. Countries that have eradicated diseases like enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhoea have implemented CPs for other

The COST action “Standardising output-based surveillance to control non-regulated diseases of cattle in the European Union (SOUND control),” aims to harmonise the results of surveillance and control programmes (CPs) for non-EU regulated cattle diseases to facilitate safe trade and improve overall control of cattle infectious diseases. In this paper we aimed to provide an overview on the diversity of control for these diseases in Europe. A non-EU regulated cattle disease was defined as an infectious disease of cattle with no or limited control at EU level, which is not included in the European Union Animal health law Categories A or B under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2002. A CP was defined as surveillance and/or intervention strategies designed to lower the incidence, prevalence, mortality or prove freedom from a specific disease in a region or country. Passive surveillance, and active surveillance of breeding bulls under Council Directive 88/407/EEC were not considered as CPs. A questionnaire was designed to obtain country-specific information about CPs for each disease. Animal health experts from 33 European countries completed the questionnaire. Overall, there are 23 diseases for which a CP exists in one or more of the countries studied. The diseases for which CPs exist in the highest number of countries are enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhoea and anthrax (CPs reported by between 16 and 31 countries). Every participating country has on average, 6 CPs (min–max: 1–13) in place. Most programmes are implemented at a national level (86%) and are applied to both dairy and non-dairy cattle (75%). Approximately one-third of the CPs are voluntary, and the funding structure is divided between government and private resources. Countries that have eradicated diseases like enzootic bovine leukosis, bluetongue, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhoea have implemented CPs for other

Diarrhea and respiratory disease are major health problems for dairy calves, often causing calf mortality. Previous studies have found calf mortality to be higher in organic dairy herds compared to conventional herds. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between production system (conventional/organic), season (summer/winter) and calf mortality risk, diarrhea, signs of respiratory disease and ocular discharge, respectively, for dairy heifer calves aged 0–180 days. Sixty Danish dairy herds, 30 conventional and 30 organic, were visited once during summer and once during winter. During the herd visits, calves were clinically examined for signs of diarrhea, hampered respiration, nasal discharge, coughing and ocular discharge. Data on mortality were obtained from the Danish Cattle Database. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models, with mortality risk and disease measures as outcome variables for each of three calf age groups: 0–28, 29–90 and 91–180 days. In organic herds, odds of mortality among calves aged 0–28 days were 2.09 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38–3.15) times higher during winter compared to summer. Odds of nasal discharge for calves 0-28 days in organic herds were 10.3 (95% CI: 2.27–46.6), 10.7 (95% CI: 2.40–40.0) and 5.97 (95% CI: 1.29–27.6) times higher for organic and conventional herds during winter (OW and CW) and conventional herds during summer (CS) respectively, compared to organic herds during summer (OS). For calves aged 29–90 days, odds of nasal discharge were 8.22 (95% CI: 3.88–17.4), 8.06 (95% CI: 3.18–20.4) and 2.86 (95% CI: 1.08–7.55) times higher for OW, CW and CS respectively, compared to OS. Odds of nasal discharge for calved aged 91–180 days were 7.03 (95% CI: 3.95–12.5) and 4.27 (95% CI: 1.81–10.1) times higher for OW and CW respectively compared to OS. For calves aged 29–90 days, odds of coughing were 2.23 (95% CI: 1.06–4.71) and 3.82 (95% CI: 1.76–8.21) times higher for OW and CW compared to OS, whi

Endemic gastrointestinal (GI) diseases have a substantial negative impact on pig production, because, when present, they reduce animal welfare, productivity and generate high antimicrobial (AM) demand. In Danish legislation,AMcan be prescribed only for therapeutic purposes. The objective of the study was to estimate the association between herd-level risk factors and the amount ofAMuse(AMU)in connection with GI diseases in finisher herds.We conducted a register-based cross-sectional study with repeated measurements from 2004 to 2007. Data were extracted from databases in the Danish Register of Veterinary Medicine, the Central Husbandry Register and the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. In total, 3192 pig herds with 26,973 records (quarters with prescriptions) were included. The outcome was presented as average AM use (measured as Animal Daily Dosage) for GI diseases per finishing pig per quarter per herd. Three potential herd-level risk factors were evaluated: herd size (number of finishers delivered for slaughter); herd health status (herds in the Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) System, conventional herds); and herd type (herds including only finishers, integrated herds). Data were analyzed using general linear mixed models with repeated measurements. Smaller herds had a larger AMU per finisher than larger herds. Integrated herds had lower AMU as compared with herds with only finishers. Herds within the SPF System had a larger decrease in AMU with increasing herd size compared to conventional herds. Significant regional differences inAMUwere seen. Additionally, the results showed that other herd factors and veterinarians were more influential than the investigated herd risk factors. This illustrates the difficulties of characterising AM-demanding GI diseases in herds by the use of register data only.

Overuse of antimicrobials in food-animal production is thought to be a major risk factor for the development of resistant bacterial populations. Data on non-human antimicrobial usage is essential for planning of intervention strategies to lower resistance levels at the country, region or herd levels. In this study we evaluated Danish national antimicrobial usage data for five antimicrobial classes used in slaughter pigs in different herd sizes and data on the number of slaughter pigs produced per herd, between 2002 and 2008, in Denmark. The objective was to ascertain if there is an association between herd size and amount of antimicrobials consumed. During this period, the overall number of herds with slaughter pigs decreased by 43%, with larger herds becoming more prevalent. The tetracycline treatment incidence (TI) rate increased from 0·28 to 0·70 animal-defined daily dose (ADD)/100 slaughter pig-days at risk while macrolide TI presented a more moderate increase, from 0·40 to 0·44 ADD/100 slaughter pig-days at risk during the study period. Linear regression analyses revealed a significant association between herd size and TI rates for tetracyclines, macrolides, sulfonamides/trimethoprim and cephalosporins, with small herds presenting significantly higher TI than moderate, large and the largest herds. This study highlights the importance of establishing an antimicrobial consumption monitoring programme, integrated with comprehensive food-animal production surveillance. Further research should be performed to address the potential causes of the detected associations between herd sizes and antimicrobial consumption in pigs.