Exotic diseases are infectious diseases that normally do not occur in the region of your pig farm either because they have never been present there or because they were eradicated and then kept out by government control measures.

A disease in your region which is under a government eradication programme is becoming an exotic disease. It will certainly be a notifiable disease. That is to say, if you suspect it you must report it to the authorities. Since the presence or absence of different diseases vary from region to region and country to country, what may be an exotic disease to some pig farmers may be enzootic (endemic) to others. For example, if you farm in the UK or Denmark, aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies) is an exotic disease because it has been eradicated, but if you farm in Ireland it is still an enzootic disease although the Irish are trying to get rid of it. Fig.12-1 should help determine the exotic diseases in your region. Beware, though, that situations change both for the better and the worse.