Transboundary spread of pig diseases: the role of international trade and travel

Beltran-Alcrudo, Daniel; Falco, John R.; Raizman, Eran; Dietze, Klaas

Within the context of formal international trade, trading partners should follow the guidance and rules adopted by the authorities of the involved countries. If executed under the agreement of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), animal health related trade requirements will be based on standards provided by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). These standards, set with the aim to protect animal and consumer health of the importing country, are a powerful tool to moderate market access and negotiating power. However, they may lead to disadvantages through high trade barriers for countries that are not capable to comply with these emerging requirements, or to voice their opinions and needs strong enough within the international community [44, 52, 74, 127] . The prominent role of animal health in international trade regulations leads to restrictive measures preventing the transboundary spread of pathogens. These regulations have great strength when looking at "known" threats and pathways of introduction, but are less effective at preventing informal movements or unknown pathogens. Nevertheless, history has shown that even within formal trade arrangements, the transboundary spread of swine diseases cannot be excluded with certainty [2] . Indeed, a number of qualitative risk assessment on the risk of CSF and ASF entry through legal imports of pork, live pigs and wild boar into different countries in Europe concluded that the risks, although low, cannot be ignored [17, 65, 74] .