Classical swine fever

Classical swine fever is a serious and economically important transboundary disease threatening pig production globally. The infection may occur in backyard pigs, feral pig populations and domestic pigs. Whereas there are proven control strategies for the latter pig population, control in backyard pigs with poor biosecurity settings or in wild boar populations of high density still poses a problem in some parts of the world. Laboratory diagnostic methods, efficacious vaccines and contingency plans are in place in most industrialised countries. So far modified live vaccines (MLV) are still the first choice for rapid and reliable immune protection. Since antibodies elicited by conventional MLV cannot be distinguished from antibodies after natural infection, considerable efforts are put into the development of a live marker vaccine accompanied by a serological test. Nevertheless, some remaining gaps with respect to the diagnosis of and vaccination against classical swine fever have been identified.