Since 2005, France has been officially free of brucellosis, an infectious disease that causes abortion in cattle and can be transmitted from cattle to humans. Recent animal and human cases have drawn attention to the need to prevent infection of humans and animals from any primary outbreaks. In order to detect any new outbreaks as soon as possible, a clinical surveillance system requires farmers and veterinarians to report each abortion and to test the aborting cow for brucellosis. However, under-reporting limits the sensitivity of this system. Our objective was to identify the barriers and motivations influencing field actors in their decision to report or not to report bovine abortions. We used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews of 12 cattle farmers and their eight veterinarians.

After the unexpected emergence of Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) in northern Europe in 2006, another arbovirus, Schmallenberg virus (SBV), emerged in Europe in 2011 causing a new economically important disease in ruminants. The virus, belonging to the Orthobunyavirus genus in the Bunyaviridae family, was first detected in Germany, in The Netherlands and in Belgium in 2011 and soon after in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Denmark and Switzerland. This review describes the current knowledge on the emergence, epidemiology, clinical signs, molecular virology and diagnosis of SBV infection.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this study was to develop a standardized tool for the assessment of surveillance systems on zoonoses and animal diseases. We reviewed three existing methods and combined them to develop a semi-quantitative assessment tool associating their strengths and providing a standardized way to display multilevel results. We developed a set of 78 assessment criteria divided into ten sections, representing the functional parts of a surveillance system. Each criterion was given a score according to the prescription of a scoring guide. Three graphical assessment outputs were generated using a specific combination of the scores. Output 1 is a general overview through a series of pie charts synthesizing the scores of each section. Output 2 is a histogram representing the quality of eight critical control points. Output 3 is a radar chart representing the level reached by ten system attributes. This tool was applied on five surveillance networks.

The slaughterhouse is a central processing point for food animals and thus a source of both demographic data (age, breed, sex) and health-related data (reason for condemnation and condemned portions) that are not available through other sources. Using these data for syndromic surveillance is therefore tempting. However many possible reasons for condemnation and condemned portions exist, making the definition of relevant syndromes challenging.

The implementation of regular and relevant evaluations of surveillance systems is critical in improving their effectiveness and their relevance whilst limiting their cost. The complex nature of these systems and the variable contexts in which they are implemented call for the development of flexible evaluation tools. Within this scope, participatory tools have been developed and implemented for the African swine fever (ASF) surveillance system in Corsica (France). The objectives of this pilot study were, firstly, to assess the applicability of participatory approaches within a developed environment involving various stakeholders and, secondly, to define and test methods developed to assess evaluation attributes. Two evaluation attributes were targeted: the acceptability of the surveillance system and its the non-monetary benefits. Individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups were implemented with representatives from every level of the system. Diagramming and scoring tools were used to assess the different elements that compose the definition of acceptability. A contingent valuation method, associated with proportional piling, was used to assess the non-monetary benefits, i.e., the value of sanitary information. Sixteen stakeholders were involved in the process, through 3 focus groups and 8 individual semi-structured interviews. Stakeholders were selected according to their role in the system and to their availability. Results highlighted a moderate acceptability of the system for farmers and hunters and a high acceptability for other representatives (e.g., private veterinarians, local laboratories). Out of the 5 farmers involved in assessing the non-monetary benefits, 3 were interested in sanitary information on ASF. The data collected via participatory approaches enable relevant recommendations to be made, based on the Corsican context, to improve the current surveillance system.