BOOK SHELF rapidly acquired antibody to PPV with 98% (41 of 42) pigs older than 24 months having antibody.

This study shows that infection with PPV is common in a low density feral pig population. It appears that this feral pig population is infected endemically, showing the virus is as capable of persisting in the wild as it is in intensive piggeries. Johnson et aZ( 1976) reported that in endemically infected domestic herds, 98 to 100% of adult pigs show serological evidence of active immunity. It would be expected that PPV would become widespread in the environment because of its high resistance to heat and desiccation.

The prevalence of PPV antibody varied with age. Until pigs were about 8 months old, the prevalence of PPV antibody steadily declined. There are two possible explanations for this.

The first explanation is that pigs aged less than eight months old are not coming into contact with PPV. This is unlikely because transmission of PPV is primarily by ingestion, and hence younger pigs should be coming into contact with the virus at a similar rate as older pigs. Mengeling and Paul (1986) demonstrated the importance of a contaminated environment as a source of PPV infection.

The second explanation is that maternally-derived antibody restricts infection to a local area, preventing a systemic infection. This appears to be the most plausible explanation for the observed age-specific prevalence, as Joo et a1 (1978) demonstrated that susceptible pigs exposed to PPV infection developed high HI titres rapidly.

This study has demonstrated that infection of feral pigs with PPV in one location in the Northern Territory is common and probably endemic. The results confirm the potential of feral pigs to harbour diseases of importance to domestic pigs.

Assistance with trapping was given by RCubillo, L Doyle, W Hunt, P Logmans, P Hausler and B OttIey. Assistance in the laboratory was provided by N Burvill, M Harmsen and V Lilley. We thank them all. Funding for fieldwork, laboratory testing and facilities for data analysis were provided by the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industries and Energy, the Conservation Commission ofthe Northern Territory and the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries.

References Barrett RH (1978) Hifgardia 46:283 Caley P (1993) Wild1 Res 20:625 Caley P (1994) WildlRes 21:287 Gagrcin M, Cirkovic D, Odic D and Manojlovic L (1991) Vet Glasnik 45137 Hoerlein AB, Hubbard ED and Getty RG (195 1)JAm Vet MedAssoc 119: 357 Hokanson JF and Luedke AJ (1958) In Diseases of Swine, edited by HW

Johnson RH (1973) Aust VetJ49:157 Johnson RH, DonaIdson-Wood C, Joo HS and Allender U (1976) A w l Vet J

Joo HS, Johnson RH and Watson DL (1978) Aust VetJ54:125 Matschke GH (1967) J WildlManage 31:lOY Mengeling WL (1992) In Diseuses ofswine, edited by AD Leman et d, Iowa

Mengeling WL and Paul PS (1986) J A m VetMedAssoc 11:1293 Too HL, Seaman JT, Littlejohns IR and Love RJ (1983) Aust VetJBO: 161

(Accepted forpublication 4 Jub 1994)

Dunne, Iowa State University Press, Ames, p 789

52:80

State University Press, Ames, p 299

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, 7th edn, revised 1994, MJ Meredith (Orders: PDIC, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OES, UK, FAX44 223 337610) pp 62, Price f35.00, ISBN 0952040913

The increasing international incidence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) should prompt pig-specialist veteri- narians to become familiar with this disease.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome provides an in- sight into many aspects of PRRS. The book is based on a review of the current literature and information gleaned from persons and laboratories involved with field investigations, research and diagno- sis of PRRS. Topics covered in the 40 pages of text include the history and geographical spread of PRRS, the nature of the PRRS virus, clinical and pathological features of the disease and diagnosis, and treatment and prevention of PRRS in swine herds. Additional to the text are a 1993 update sheet of international reports of PRRS status and control, a detailed reference list, a list of laboratories diagnosing PRRS and a summary of new PRRS outbreaks in Europe. A glossary of terms is also provided for us veterinarians who have forgotten what togaviruses and nucleocapsids looked like!

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome is easy to read and cross reference. However, much of the information is repeated in different sections of the book. From a clinician’s viewpoint, the discussion of clinical disease would be better presented by describing the most common clinical signs of PRRS in point form, rather than by lengthy discussions of case histories and challenge experiments. The book would also benefit from a summary of each aspect of the disease discussed, rather than simply describing the current literature and observations of persons working in the PRRS field.

This book clearly outlines the decline in productivity and profit- ability of PRRS-affected swine herds. It also highlights the difficul- ties associated with preventing the disease from spreading internationally. The appearance of PRRS in the UK and Malta, despite the aquatic isolation and controls over the importation of live pigs and pig meat into these countries, suggests that the Australian pig herd is not immune to this disease. The information about diagnosis, treatment and prevention of PRRS that is contained in this book should interest veterinarians working with pigs in Australia. The inclusion of ‘Annexure 1 : Laboratories undertaking commercial diagnosis for PRRS viruses’ would also provide a useful resource if the disease occurred in Australia.

Patricia Holyoake

Risk Analysis, Animal Health and Trade, OIE Scientific and Technical Review, I 2 (41, Offce International des Epizooties, Paris, 1993, pp 448, Frf-200 ISSN 0253 1933

The exclusion of an animal, animal product or by-product due solely to the presence of a disease in an exporting country is no longer a defensible policy. (p 1055)

With the signing of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade after the Uruguay Round, this book becomes a valuable resource for veterinarians and others involved in the movement of livestock and animal products. It is one of the ongoing series of OIE quarterly reviews and comprises 16 papers written by veterinarians who have been developing and using risk analysis in animal health in recent years. Australian and New Zealand authors have made a significant contribution to the book. All but one of the papers are written in English and all have English, French and Spanish abstracts.

Australian Veterinroy JoumalVol. 12, No. 1, January 1995 37

The influence of a global outlook, entrepreneurship, and a desire for freer trade are resulting in a range of import requestsfor new commodities. Animal health regulatory officers will need to know the disease risks associated with any given importation. (p 1005)

On one hand a ‘zero-risk‘ quarantine policy is naive and politically unacceptable. It also encourages smuggling, which poses a higher risk of disease than controlled imports. On the other hand, trade restrictions to protect human and animal health should not become non-tariff trade barriers in disguise. Risk analysis attempts to make the decision process regarding imports objective, scientifically sound and transparent to interested parties. The papers in this book cover the principles of risk analysis and its component parts of risk assess- ment, risk management (to reduce the risk) and communication to affected parties. Models for assessing the risk that an importation may pose are presented and applied to several interesting and varied examples, including the import of salmon meat to Australia and of anthrax on green hides to New Zealand. The assessments of risks associated with the use of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine in Europe and with the disposal of garbage from cruise ships in land-fill sites in Alaska demonstrate the application of the methods to decision making in other areas of animal health.

A plank of risk assessment and management is the assessment of the veterinary services of a trading nation. The agreed OIE guidelines for the evaluation of national veterinary services is an appendix to the book, and one American paper proposes a method for assessing national systems for the surveillance and monitoring of animal health. These are particularly relevant to the current debate in this country about the future of veterinary services.

The concepts and methods outlined in the review will become increasingly important procedures for use by animal health professionals involved in trade and surveillance. However, they are also relevant to those involved in other decisions involving risks, even at the herd level. Although risk analysis is still a developing area in animal health, the papers present the concepts and applica- tions. The challenge is to provide the objective animal health data to support risk analysis. The book deserves to be widely read and kept for regular reference.

David Kennedy

because in countries where rabbit meat is a common part of the diet, concerned consumers consult veterinarians with a headless carcase of a rabbit that, almost always mistakenly, they suspect to be a cat!

The remaining 18 chapters (107 pages) deal with clinical and pathological aspects of rabbit diseases, surgery, anaesthesia, and administration of medicines. There is a lot of useful, concisely presented, and up-to-date information here. Unfortunately there are also many statements with which this reviewer would take issue, and important recently available information that is not presented. The book recommends the use of xylol as a vasodilatory skin preparation before venepuncture of the ear veins, a practice discouraged in most Australian laboratories because xylol is irritant, the fumes are car- cinogenic, and warm water and a brisk rub does the job as well. The section on pasteurellosis contains many statements that can be read- ily shown to be incorrect (for example, “there is no good selective bacteriological medium”, “it cannot be easily isolated from the nasal cavity”, and “eliminating all carriers is an impossible task”). There is little discussion of the important epidemiological aspects of this disease, or any mention of control by introducing clean stock into quarantine. There is no mention of the parasite Multiceps seriulis occasionally seen in Australia. Viral haemorrhagic disease is well covered. In the chapter on surgery and anaesthesia, the author advo- cates hypnosis as a suitable form of anaesthesia and restraint for castration. Although rabbits can be easily placed into a trance-like state, the state has been shown to be highly variable and is generally regarded as no substitute for anaesthesia for even minor surgery. In this reviewer’s opinion, proper anaesthesia is definitely required for this purpose.

In summary, this book presents much concise and useful informa- tion. It is an improvement over the first edition published in 1988. It will be of value to the general practitioner who sees the occasional rabbit. It will be useful to the laboratory animal specialist but not a substitute for more detailed reference texts on the subject.

Ivor Harris

The Business of Veterinary Practice, edited by J Sheridan and 0 McCafferfy, Pegamon Press, Oxford, 1993, pp 128, $30.00, ISBN 0 08 040846 X

Diseases of Domestic Rabbits, Second Edition, Lieve Okerman, translated by R Sundahl, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, Melbourne, (Orders: tel: 03 347 5552) 1994, pp 152, $59.00, ISBN 0 632 03804 7

A concise and reasonably priced, soft-covered book such as this would have the potential to make a welcome addition to an available range in this subject area consisting, with few exceptions, of very expensive specialist volumes. This book has originated in Belgium, and is intended by the author to comprise an aid to veterinarians who in the course of their practice are called upon to treat rabbits. Pet, laboratory, backyard, and commercial rabbits are distinguished. In Europe, the rabbit is an important livestock species.

The first eight brief chapters (30 pages) discuss the general biology and management of rabbits. The management chapters deal mainly with the backyard and commercial production of rabbits under northern European conditions. Laboratory rabbits are not covered specificaily. This section is only partly relevant to comparable types of production under Australian conditions. The current international debate on group pens as opposed to single cages for laboratory rabbits is not included. The chapter on nutrition is brief and has very little information relevant to intensive commercial or laboratory production. The chapter on anatomical peculiarities is partly devoted to the distinguishing features of the skeletons of the rabbit and cat

The authors of this slim paperback are two well-known identities in the field of veterinary business management. Owen E McCafferty is a certified public accountant in Cleveland, Ohio, who specialises in the management of veterinary practices in the USA. He is a regular speaker at management conferences and a prolific contributor to Veterinary Economics. John P Sheridan, who will be less well known to Australian veterinarians, is a veterinarian in the UK with a special interest in veterinary practice management.

The authors have worked together to produce a book that is of use to practitioners the world over. Much of what they say in this book has been published before, but the beauty of this book is the fresh and attractive way that the material is presented.

The ten chapters are well organised and easy to read either from the front to the back or as individual chapters. Each chapter contains a balanced mixture of practice philosophy and practical management techniques. What is very clear from reading this book is that the authors are speaking from long practical experience. There is very little that can be considered superfluous or unnecessary material. I particularly liked the chapter on “The people who work in your practice”. This section contains some valuable material on performance- related salary packages. Every employer is aware of the problem of the associate veterinarian who gives away ‘freebie’ consultations with gay abandon. The authors suggestion to control this is to pay the associate a sum of money, say $200 each month, in addition to their salary, out of which they have to pay back the practice the value

38 Australian Veterinary Journal Vol. 12, No. 1, January 1995