Abstract
Statutory recording of carcass lesions at the abattoir may have significant potential as a
resource for surveillance of livestock populations. Food Standards Agency (FSA) data in
Great Britain are not currently used for surveillance purposes. There are concerns that the
sensitivity of detection, combined with other issues, may make the outputs unreliable. In
this study we postulate that FSA data could be used for surveillance purposes. To test this
we compared FSA data with BPHS (a targeted surveillance system of slaughtered pigs)
and laboratory diagnostic scanning surveillance (FarmFile) data, from mid-2008 to mid-
2012, for respiratory conditions and tail bite lesions in pigs at population level. We also evaluated
the agreement/correlation at batch level between FSA and BPHS inspections in four
field trials during 2013. Temporal trends and regional differences at population level were
described and compared using logistic regression models. Population temporal analysis
showed an increase in respiratory disease in all datasets but with regional differences. For
tail bite, the temporal trend and monthly patterns were completely different between the
datasets. The field trials were run in three abattoirs and included 322 batches. Pearson’s
correlation and Cohen’s kappa tests were used to assess correlation/agreement between
inspections systems. It was moderate to strong for high prevalence conditions but slight for
low prevalence conditions. We conclude that there is potential to use FSA data as a component
of a surveillance system to monitor temporal trends and regional differences of chosen
indicators at population level. At producer level and for low prevalence conditions it needs
further improvement. Overall a number of issues still need to be addressed in order to provide
the pig industry with the confidence to base their decisions on these FSA inspection
data. Similar conclusions, at national level, may apply to other livestock sectors but require
further evaluation of the inspection and data collection processes.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 0161990 |
Journal | PLoS ONE |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 8 |
Early online date | 26 Aug 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | First published - 26 Aug 2016 |
Bibliographical note
20680432092421