Poster communication in 13th International Symposium on Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics

August 20^th, 2012

Martinez-Lopez B., Mur L., Rodriguez-Prieto V., Sanchez-Vizcaino F. and Sanchez-Vizcaino JM.

The presence of backyard pigs (BYP), which are usually managed with low biosecurity measures, is a reality in many EU countries; however there are no official counts or knowledge about their distribution.
Although suggested, the contribution of BYP in the persistence of diseases such as classical swine fever (CSF) or African swine fever (ASF) has not been fully investigated. The current situation of CSF in some EU countries, with outbreaks in BYP and wild boars, and the continuing spread of ASF in the Russian Federation, with outbreaks occurring close to the EU borders, has increased the concerns on the potential role that BYP may have in the persistence of such diseases. The study presented here was aimed to estimate the BYP density in the EU as a first step to evaluate its potential role on the persistence of CSF or ASF. Specifically, we estimate the relation between 117 socio-economic and cultural factors and the density of BYP in Romania, Bulgaria and Sardinia, for which BYP counts were available, using a generalized linear model. The model with the lowest AIC and the highest adjusted R-squared was considered the one that best fitted the data and was used to estimate the abundance of BYP in the rest of EU countries. Model revealed that BYP is particularly concentrated in areas where agricultural holdings have mixed livestock
and low standard gross margin, farm owners are old (i.e. age 55-66) and labour force is familiar. A BYP density map at NUT3 level for the whole EU has been produced and will be validated using expert opinion.
Interestingly, areas with the largest number of BYP have the highest number of CSF outbreaks in the last 10 years. Methods and results of this study would be useful to further evaluate the epidemiological role or BYP and, ultimately, to allocate efforts to prevent CSF or ASF disease spread and/or persistence into the EU

	Servicio de Inmunología Viral y Medicina Preventiva (SUAT). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM).
	Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM).