Some aspects of effective control of Bovine infectious rhinotracheitis in European countries

Abstract

Data on the epizootic situation concerning bovine infectious rhinotracheitis in the countries of the European continent are presented. Most of the countries that are members of the World Organization for Animal Health have implemented anti-epidemic measures on their territory, which include observation, reporting, monitoring or screening, as well as control of the movement of animals within the country and precautionary measures at the border. It has been noted that permanent safety in relation to the disease is possible only under the conditions of implementation of mandatory control measures at the state level, which are based on the removal of seropositive animals infected with an epizootic strain of the virus from herds simultaneously with or without the use of vaccines. In most countries of the European Union, IRT virus eradication programs have been implemented, which are based on research and removal strategies, as well as differentiation of vaccinated from infected animals. As the experience of the Scandinavian countries has shown, the most effective scheme is the eradication of the IRT pathogen by slaughtering infected animals, but this is only possible under conditions of a low level of livestock infection. The most economically feasible strategy for controlling IRT in herds with high levels of infection is the use of marker vaccines, followed by differentiation of vaccinated animals from infected ones and removal of the latter from the herd. When a low level of herd seropositivity is reached, it is advisable to implement a detection and slaughter strategy