[Serosurveillance of notifiable veterinary diseases in wild boar in the Netherlands]

During the hunting season 1996-1999, blood samples were collected from wild boar shot in The Netherlands. Sera were screened for presence of antibodies against classical swine fever virus (CSFV), swine vesicular disease virus (SVDV), Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV), and Trichinella spiralis. The results indicate that CSFV, SVDV, and ADV are uncommon in the wild boar population. Therefore, it seems that CSFV, SVDV, and ADV infection in the wild boar population is not an important reservoir in The Netherlands. ADV and CSFV infections are endemic in the wild boar population in Germany. Since contact between the German and Dutch wild boar populations can not be excluded, continuation of the sero-surveillance system seems appropriate. In the decade before 1998, the wild boar population in The Netherlands seemed to be free of T. spiralis. Whether the finding, in the hunting season of 1998-1999, of a few wild boar with antibodies against T. spiralis is an artefact or not, should be investigated in further research.