[Strategies for prevention and eradication of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia with or without vaccination].

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) offers, like rinderpest, the paradox of having been eradicated from some countries (north-western Europe, the United States of America) before the nature of the pathogenic agent was known. As a preventive measure, inoculation of pathogenic material was used but success varies due to strategic inadequacies. The same applies to vaccination with more or less attenuated live strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides. Many ideas for prophylaxis have been suggested. Disease-free countries must apply the recommendations of the International Animal Health Code of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), including those concerning the operation of epidemiological surveillance systems. Infected countries (or regions) select one of the following courses of action, depending on epidemiological, geographic, economic and social circumstances: Slaughter of affected and in-contact animals. This radical, simple and effective solution cannot be applied everywhere, particularly in a number of developing countries which have pastoral economies. Slaughter of affected animals and vaccination of those in contact. This method, which actually perpetuates the infection, is unfortunately still used widely. Preventive vaccination of healthy animals, coupled with the slaughter of affected animals and/or revaccination of those exposed to infection. This method controls the situation if outbreaks are detected efficiently and combated energetically. The tactical approach for disease-free and infected areas should continue to be that of large-scale and repeated vaccination, recommended since 1970 and the efficiency of which has been proved. This approach can lead to eradication when maintained for at least three years and applied to an entire infected region or country. A country is recognised as free from infection under rules adopted by the OIE in 1995.