Aujeszky virus circulation in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Southern Belgium: active surveillance 2023.

Aujeszky's disease (AD) is a viral disease caused by a herpesvirus (Pseudorabies, Suid herpesvirus 1, Aujeszky Disease Virus, ADV) for which domestic swine and wild boar are the reservoir hosts. In accidental hosts, such as dogs, the virus causes a fatal encephalitis. The inter-species transmission from wild boar represents a significant threat to the pig sector, mainly to outdoor pig farming. Belgium obtained the Aujeszky’s free status in 2011 and the vaccination doesn’t take place any more in farms. However, the virus circulated within the wild boar population at a rate of 30.65% (IC 95%: 26.87 – 34.43) among boars collected in 2017 in Wallonia. In Germany, between 2010 and 2015, the seroprevalence was 12.09% (Denzin et al., 2020) among a total of 108,748 sera from wild boars. In Southeastern France, the seroprevalence was estimated at 30.33% (Laidoudi et al., 2022). The aim of this study is to provide an update on the epidemiology of AD in wild boar in Wallonia.