Biosecurity for Livestock Diseases in Europe

Taking an evidence-based, cost-effective approach, this book reviews our understanding of biosecurity throughout the livestock production chain and across poultry, swine, cattle and small ruminants. It covers the prevalence, risk factors, transmission routes and modelling, and control measures for a range of endemic and epidemic diseases.

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Biosecurity practices can help prevent the introduction and spread of disease, promoting better animal health and welfare, human health, food safety, and the economic benefits of livestock production. Stemming from a joint initiative between the Biosecure project which brought together 17 partners across 12 European countries, and DISCONTOOLS, the research gap database in animal health, this book provides valuable background information which can help to better understand and prioritize biosecurity measures. Driven by an evidence-based and cost-effective approach to biosecurity, it is divided into two sections covering endemic diseases typically present within most countries, and epidemic diseases with the potential for large scale outbreaks. Through a series of disease entries, it: - introduces the diseases of most relevance for the European context; - reviews our current understanding of biosecurity throughout the livestock production chain, and across the principal terrestrial animal species farmed within Europe: poultry, swine, cattle, and small ruminants; - covers the prevalence, risk factors, transmission routes, current control measures and biosecurity, and data for transmission modelling for each disease. By summarizing current knowledge on a range of diseases, this book forms both a useful resource for researchers and professionals in animal disease prevention, and a starting off point for identifying information gaps and requirements for future research.