[30 years of the Swine Health Service]

The establishment of a Porcine Health Service (PHS) was pioneered in the early sixties. After reviewing the history of the formation of the PHS, a few examples of how it stimulated research in several fields in our two faculties are given. The development of the PHS was noticeably slowed down by yearly recurrent "mysterious" outbreaks of actinobacillosis and especially enzootic pneumonia. Epidemiologic investigations have since shown that the reintroductions of these pathogens can occur by airborne transmission. This information filled the last important gap in the battle against these economically and public health important diseases. Simultaneously it became apparent that enzootic pneumonia and actinobacillosis are not merely herd problems but epizootics which can only be eradicated by means of modern disease control legislation. The question is posed whether or not the PHS, which is potentially a valuable tool in the hands of the state veterinarians, should continue to remain under the control of the producers.