[Control of the identity of blood samples for the surveillance of research on swine vesicular disease and Aujeszky's disease]. / Identiteitscontrole van bloedmonsters voor de bewaking van het onderzoek op swine vesicular disease en de ziekte van aujeszky.

A surveillance programme for swine vesicular disease (SVD) and Aujeszky disease was set up in 1993 in the Netherlands. Blood samples are taken from pigs by local veterinarians to enable testing for the presence of antibodies against these viruses. A programme to guarantee the identity of pigs tested for these diseases has been in operation since late 1995. In this programme, pigs are identified on the basis of the DNA profiles of blood and hair samples. The hair samples are collected by the department of Animal Health Control. Analysis proves whether blood and hair samples are from the same animal. A total of 655 animals have been tested from 94 farms. In 38.6% of these farms differences were found between blood and hair samples.