The aim is to find out more about the diseases and how to control them.

One of the first tasks of the researchers has been to define PMWS. The full case definition can be downloaded here but could be summarised as: "An increase in mortality exceeding the national or regional level by 50 percent is considered indicative of PMWS."

It is expected the wide range of disciplines within the research consortium will provide a platform of expertise that endures beyond the lifetime of the 42-month project, and that this expertise can be used to react quickly to other new emerging mulifactorial disease syndromes in pigs.

The aims of the project include:

• A reduction in the load of secondary bacterial infections in pig herds, accompanied by a consequential reduction in the use of antibiotic therapy and risk of acquired antibiotic resistance.
  
  

• An increase in the quality and safety of food product derived from pigs.
  
  

• Establishment of a common standardised and harmonised bank of chemical tests to be used in the study of porcine circovirus diseases.
  
  

• The identification of common co-factors or triggers that lead to full clinical development of porcine circovirus diseases.
  
  

• Determination of the molecular mechanisms of porcine circovirus 2 replication and pathogenesis and the early replication sites of porcine circovirus 2 in pigs.
  
  

• Elucidation of the possible role of pig genetics, nutrition and other environmental factors in the full clinical expression of porcine circovirus diseases.
  
  

• Elucidation of the early interactions of porcine circovirus 2 with the pig immune system relevant to susceptibility or resistance to porcine circovirus diseases .
  
  

• A possible explanation as to why sporadic porcine circovirus disease suddenly changed to a global epizootic of porcine circovirus disease.
  
  

• Effective and consistent control measures for PCVD that can be applied across all EU member states.