Epidemiological and genetical studies in Norwegian pig herds. I. Design of a disease recording system.

The study was based on 70 pig herds in the south-eastern part of Norway during the period from 1984 to 1986. The purpose was to design a health card system based on individual disease records covering diseases in sows, piglets and slaughter pigs. It is concluded that individual health records on a herd basis may well be suited for use in epidemiological and genetical studies of disease frequencies and disease resistance. Feedback of results to farmers and veterinarians seems to be important for satisfactory follow-up in the herds.