The wild boar is not the main source of ASF, and its depopulation is a categorically harmful activity. African swine fever on the border of g. Lukhovitsy How pigs become infected

The situation with African swine fever in the Russian Federation today is as follows: according to the Rosselkhoznadzor Office for the Samara Region, as of 04.06.2018, there are 2 ASF outbreaks in the Vladimir Region in the quarantine regime among domestic pigs, 12 are in the ASF quarantine regime in the wild fauna. objects infected with ASF: 1 - in the Belgorod region and 11 - in the neighboring Saratov region.

The municipal district of Syzransky is located in a 100-km threatened zone around an open outbreak of the Saratov OOOiR of the Dukhovnitsky district of the Saratov region. The constant detection of ASF cases among wild boars indicates that the threat of a serious exacerbation of the situation with the spread of this infection both in wild fauna and among domestic pigs remains. The process of mutual re-infection is in progress. The increase in outbreaks in the summer is the result of a campaign of the population in the forest. People do not change their clothes, there is a process of infection. Domestic animals, their corpses, which are thrown away by their owners, also serve as a source of infection for wild boars, etc.

African swine fever is a particularly dangerous disease of wild and domestic pigs. The causative agent of the disease is a virus, the disease is accompanied by fever, paralysis of the limbs, septic-hemorrhagic phenomena and is transmitted not only through contact of healthy animals with sick animals, but also spreads through feed, pastures, transport in which sick animals are transported. Potential carriers of African plague are ticks, rodents; can become a source of the virus and meat products from infected pigs. There is no cure for this disease, and all livestock, where the virus enters, dies.

The most vulnerable in the event of ASF are personal, subsidiary and private farms. The main reason is the failure of animal owners to comply with the rules and regulations that are provided for by law. First of all, these are unauthorized transportation and sale of products, failure to comply with other measures, including failure to provide data on the available livestock of animals, unauthorized burial of corpses in household waste dumps or in forest belts, and, ultimately, failure to inform the veterinary service about the facts of mortality. In this regard, the veterinary service takes measures with a delay, already in fact, when the process from one farm mechanically spreads to other territories.

In order to prevent disease, experts recommend providing pigs without a range, not feeding waste (from canteens, cafes, and so on) that has not undergone heat treatment - boiling for 1 hour. Pigs must be purchased if there are accompanying veterinary documents confirming the welfare of the place of export of the pigs. Slaughter of pigs should be carried out only after a preliminary clinical examination of pigs by a veterinary specialist of the state veterinary service.

Chief Veterinarian

M.R. Syzransky and Mr. Oktyabrsk

V.A. Ryabov

The situation with African swine fever in the Russian Federation today is as follows: according to the Rosselkhoznadzor Administration for the Samara region As of 04.06.2018, there are 2 ASF outbreaks in the Vladimir region in quarantine among domestic pigs, and 12 ASF-infected objects in the wild fauna are in quarantine mode for ASF: 1 - in the Belgorod region and 11 - in the neighboring Saratov region.

The municipal district of Syzran is located in100-km endangered area around an open outbreak of the Saratov LLC & R of the Dukhovnitsky District of the Saratov Region. The constant detection of ASF cases among wild boars indicates that the threat of a serious exacerbation of the situation with the spread of this infection both in wild fauna and among domestic pigs remains. The process of mutual re-infection is in progress. The increase in outbreaks in the summer is the result of a campaign of the population in the forest. People do not change their clothes, there is a process of infection. Domestic animals, their corpses, which are thrown away by their owners, also serve as a source of infection for wild boars, etc.

Chief Veterinarian

M.R. Syzransky and Mr. Oktyabrsk

Andrey Shalygin: Information review on ASF of wild boars published by the Ministry of Natural Resources quite an interesting document that somehow systematized the data that were already well known to us, and the conclusions were voiced by Onishchenko. ASF was delivered to Russia by Georgian saboteurs, scattering parts of the carcasses from helicopters in August-September 2007.

The history of ASF in Russia began in 2007 from the territory of Georgia approximately in August-September in the direction of Chechnya through Urus-Martan and the floodplain of the Sharo-Argun River; in 2008, a wild boar was struck on the territory of Ossetia. The route of ASF entering Russia is considered to be the Armenia-Georgia-Russia direction.

On July 23, 2008, the introduction of the ASF virus into the Orenburg region was established (the village of Chernorechye, LLC Muzhichya Pavlovka). The most reliable version about the introduction of the virus from the Republic of Armenia or Georgia, in favor of which there were strong arguments (a large diaspora of Armenians who constantly traveled to Armenia, as well as the confirmed travel of citizens along the route Armenia-Georgia-Kazakhstan-RF) confirms the "spasmodic" spread of the virus with the participation of a person and the risk of carrying the virus anywhere in the Russian Federation.

The data obtained as a result of monitoring studies indicate the main role of wild pigs in the introduction of the ASF virus into the territory of the Russian Federation in 2007 and its subsequent spread in 2008-2009. (however, in the distribution in the Republic of Oseti-Alania, there is a movement of foci along the highway, which indicates a movement associated with a person).

The geographical spread of ASF among wild pigs in 2007-2009 living in the mountainous and foothill territories of the Caucasian republics of the Russian Federation, as well as the registration of several cases in one outbreak, indicate an active phase of the epizootic process of ASF among wild pigs, as well as the fact that the disease has all signs of natural focal type.

Events 2007 - July 2010 in the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District showed that practically all cases of ASF(the cumulative number of which today for the entire period is more than 150), with the exception of one case in the Krasnodar Territory, associated with small-scale production and, first of all, with personal subsidiary plots of citizens (LPH). Thus, to the previously identified risk factor - transport arteries, another one - private household plots - is added.

The main reason for such a rapid spread of the disease is an anthropogenic factor.- violation of sanitary and veterinary measures, lack of objective accounting of livestock in personal subsidiary plots, interfarm, transport links, and most importantly - the practice of feeding animals not properly processed food waste.

In many cases, the facts of mass sale of meat and meat products of animals sick and dead from ASF were registered. Numerous facts of feeding to wild animals of feeding compound feeds infected with ASF were revealed.

Information on discharges of pig products contaminated with ASF from helicopters (based on materials from the media and the Internet)- There was no documentary evidence of discharges from helicopters of swine products contaminated with ASF, however, in a number of media there were reports on this issue. There is also information from unofficial sources about similar cases in the Volgograd, Smolensk and other regions. There are numerous eyewitness accounts of the dumping of parts of the carcasses of infected animals from helicopters that invaded the territory of Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia (the texts of the main messages are given in the document of the Ministry of Natural Resources).

Jose Sanchez Vizcaino (Professor, Head of the Department of Epizootology at the University of Madrid, Head of the National Program for the Eradication of ASF in Spain) emphasized that wild boars are not the main source of the spread of the disease, but become infected with the African swine fever virus when eating contaminated food waste and contact with sick domestic pigs ... As the spread of the disease among domestic pigs decreases, the spread of the disease among wild boars also decreases.

Dudnikov and the authors (2013), say the following: The wild boar is not the leading link in the epidemiological process in ASF in Russia, and its biological characteristics do not allow us to consider the wild boar as the main vector of the spread of the disease in the territory of the Russian Federation.

In the epidemiology of ASF, the role of the wild boar is secondary, because he can act as a source of the causative agent only through direct contact with domestic pigs, which contradicts the practice of pig breeding in Russia. The role of the wild boar as a reservoir of infection has not been proven for any of the European countries. The boar is also not an amplifier of the virus. The wild boar and the domestic pig are one species of Sus scrofa, in contrast to the African species. The boar acts as a mediator of the disease only in direct contact with domestic pigs. The risk associated with wild pig slaughter products is minimal due to their local distribution.

The biological characteristics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) do not allow them to become carriers and distributors of the African swine fever pathogen over long distances, because ASF occurs in them in an acute form with 100% mortality 5-14 days after infection, which means that the animal cannot cover long distances. Moreover, the ecological rule: the first thing that a sick animal loses is the migratory instinct.

In other words, a wild boar is a victim, not a source of ASF spread ... A person, interfering with nature and taking measures to depopulate a wild boar, seeks to exterminate it in a given territory, and not to search for means of eliminating the disease. This can lead to the fact that from the wild boar there will be only a stuffed animal in the showcase of the museum of nature. (Ensuring the welfare of the wild boar population against African swine fever. [Visual aid / S. A. Dudnikov, A. V. Savvin, O. N. Petrova and others]. Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance. FGBI "ARRIAH" - Vladimir: IAC of the Veterinary Inspection Department, 2013).

The work of the same authors "African swine fever in the wild boar population" also says:
“Speaking about the depopulation of wild boar, it should be noted that its effectiveness as a measure to combat ASF is questionable. It was noticed that when shooting wild boars migrate en masse and this only contributes to the spread of the disease and its penetration into new territories. It is especially risky to carry out “preventive” depopulation in ASF-free regions of the Russian Federation adjacent to endemic zones. The territories freed from animals attract wild boars from neighboring regions, which, if the pathogen is present in their population, contributes to the spread of the disease. For example, depopulation in the Yaroslavl or Moscow regions is likely to provoke the migration of wild boar from the adjacent districts of the Tver region. To control the disease situation, it is much preferable to ensure that the population is located in the same territory, for example, by organizing feeding grounds. In this case, it is easy to monitor the health status of animals and control the change in their numbers. This, in turn, will allow early detection of the disease and death of animals. "

And then the Conclusions were announced:
... “The disease was introduced to the territory of the country with wild boars, and the original source of African plague in the Greater Caucasus (initially, domestic pigs were infected) was non-disinfected food waste;
... violation of veterinary legislation, untimely implementation of antiepizootic measures in the country contributed to the transition of the disease to the livestock of domestic pigs, which provoked further expansion of the disease into new territories;
... mismanagement and gross violations of veterinary and sanitary rules (including the rules for the disposal of food waste, slaughter products and corpses of dead pigs) ensured the penetration of an infectious agent into the wild fauna of the Rostov, Astrakhan, Tver, Volgograd regions and contribute to the further maintenance of trouble in the regions;
... wild boars (Sus scrofa) cannot carry and spread the pathogen, especially over long distances, because ASF occurs in them in an acute form with 100% mortality 5-14 days after infection, which does not allow the animal to travel long distances;
. the migration of wild boar is caused by extraordinary factors, such as the active shooting of animals in certain territories, as well as
... liberation of territories favorable for the existence (in case of death or shooting of its previous inhabitants);

Given Suggestions:
1) At this stage in the development of epizootics in the country, continuous systematic monitoring of the wild boar population should be carried out in order to assess the prevalence and incidence of the disease.
2) The effectiveness of wild boar depopulation as a measure to combat ASF is questionable and it is advisable to carry it out only within a 5-10-kilometer zone around the unfavorable point.
3) To control the disease situation, it is necessary to ensure that the population is located in the same territory, for example, by organizing feeding areas. In this case, you can monitor the health status of animals and control the change in their numbers. This, in turn, will allow early detection of the disease and death of animals. "

The materials considered indicate an unnatural course of the epizootic process at all stages of its movement across the Russian Federation, i.e. there is no interconnection of the occurrence of all cases of the disease through the chain transmission of the pathogen from infected animals to susceptible healthy ones.

As a consequence, it can be argued that the dynamics and territorial distribution of the course of epizootics excludes the possibility of assuming the natural spread of the ASF epizootic through the natural environment, and the wild boar population as a factor in the spread of the epizootic.

This fact is confirmed by the data on the ASF epizootic process in the northern territories, where there is no wild boar or its population is minimal. However, there is a dependence of the course of the ASF epizootic on economic activities (highways, pig farms, private farmsteads).

This statement is confirmed by the registration of primary occurrences of ASF in the subjects.
For the period 2007-2013 in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, ASF was detected primarily in agriculture in 24 cases (subjects), in the natural environment in 9 cases (subjects). Moreover, out of 9 - 3 cases of primary occurrence of ASF in the natural environment of the subject are a disease of wild boars in isolated enclosures (Appendix 4: Calendar of primary, ongoing and eliminated outbreaks of ASF among domestic pigs and wild boars).

The fixation of ASF in the subject is also not associated with infection of the natural territory. In 10 previously unsuccessful subjects with a detected disease of wild boars, outbreaks in the natural environment have been eliminated without resuming until the present day (that is, for a long period of time: 1-5 years).

And the experience of the southern regions suggests that the regulation of the number of wild boars does not always bring the desired effect - with the minimum number of wild boars in the Southern Federal District (and the absence of outbreaks in the natural environment), ASF in domestic pigs has not been eradicated there.

The main fight against ASF should be carried out through the observance of established veterinary norms and rules in animal husbandry, and not through the total extermination of wild boars.

The main reason for the spread of ASF is the uncontrolled transport of infected pig products between regions, and as a result, the emergence of new outbreaks of the disease among wild boars.

It is obvious that carrying out the so-called "depopulation" measures as an antiepizootic measure is not only ineffective, but can also aggravate the epizootic situation, contributing to the territorial expansion of the disease.

Previously, some articles on this topic:

African swine fever (ASF) remains the main threat to the development of pig production in Russia. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, in 2016, 239 outbreaks of domestic pigs were identified in 26 regions of Russia, and 54 objects infected with the virus were found in another 14 regions (carcasses of domestic pigs, storage sites, processing of ASF-infected animal carcasses, etc.). And that's not counting the precedents in the wild. According to indicators, last year exceeded the worst before that - 2013, more than 300 thousand animals were destroyed, according to the deputy director general National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS) Vladimir Kurlenko. According to the general director of the union, Yuri Kovalev, if direct losses are estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture at 5 billion rubles, then indirect losses amount to about another 30 billion rubles.

The plague has reached Siberia

This year, too, has already managed to be marked with new anti-records: ASF has come to previously prosperous regions. The slow but sure expansion of the geography of the disease in 2017 is especially noticeable: outbreaks were registered in Crimea, a virus was detected in the Samara and Irkutsk regions. In the case of the latter, an extraordinary drift of the virus occurred thousands of kilometers from the nearest outbreak. “The appearance of the plague in Crimea and the spread of the disease on the peninsula occurred presumably from the territory of Ukraine with infected pork,” says the head of the animal husbandry and veterinary department () Yevgeny Lapinsky. “Also unprecedented was the spread of ASF by one person across the territories of two regions of the country, when a citizen bought piglets in the south and sold them in the Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions, in the first seven, and in the second - 31 outbreaks of ASF”.

Whether or not pork products come to us from Ukraine is anyone's guess, since its import has been banned in recent years, and the impersonal contraband supplied, which can be identified, may be from Ukraine as well as from other countries, for example, the EU states, Lapinsky said. However, given that ASF is widespread throughout Ukraine, including in all regions bordering Russia, the likelihood of importing infected smuggled pork is high. Moreover, the danger of the introduction of the disease exists not only for Russia, but also for other neighboring states. So, in 2016, the virus was first detected in Moldova, all foci are located near the border with Ukraine. Moldovan customs in March thwarted 118 attempts to supply the latter with pork and meat products. “It is important to understand that not only criminals-smugglers can import infected products, but also ordinary citizens who bring pork products for themselves from disadvantaged countries,” the expert explains. “In this case, the consequences in both cases can be equally dire, even a sandwich with bacon poses a significant risk.”

A catastrophic plague situation is developing in the Baltic countries. Since 2014, 598 cases of ASF have been registered in Lithuania. The entire territory of Estonia is in the ASF quarantine zone, and the number of outbreaks in the period 2014-2016 was more than a thousand, after which the registration was stopped. In Latvia during this time, 1,179 outbreaks were recorded, and in Poland - 257. The bulk of outbreaks in these countries fell on wild boars. “Expansion of the geography of ASF distribution in Europe definitely increases the risks of its introduction into Russia from abroad,” concludes Lapinsky. At the rate NSS, in general, the number of ASF outbreaks in the EU for less than three years has already exceeded their number in Russia by a factor of 2.7 over the period from 2007 to 2016.

According to the forecast estimates of the Rosselkhoznadzor, the risk of the spread of the disease remains high. Illegal transportation of infected animals and animal products remains the main threat of the introduction of infection into safe areas. The forecast probability, according to the department, is 60-70%. Rosselkhoznadzor officials believe that the current epizootic situation indicates that the measures taken by the executive authorities of a number of regions to prevent the introduction of the ASF virus, eliminate and prevent its spread, are not effective enough, which is confirmed by the facts of registration of the disease.

The fight is not without rules

The situation with ASF in Russia is determined primarily by economic factors, which indicate that living with the disease is more profitable than investing in its elimination, since the consequences of ASF are less than the cost of complying with the requirements of current legislation, the director of the All-Russian Research Institute said. Veterinary Virology and Microbiology Denis Kolbasov. “Until this balance changes, the situation will remain the same,” he said. “So, for example, the number of private household plots is also regulated primarily by the economy, and not by legislation.” At the same time, he notes a positive point: the competence of veterinary laboratories in the field of ASF diagnostics is increasing. “In an initial outbreak, even such remote regions as the Irkutsk region can accurately diagnose,” he says.

For several years now, the Commission of the Government of Russia has been operating for the prevention of the spread and elimination of ASF in the country (operational headquarters). As a result of his activities, a lot of normative legal acts were introduced aimed at a comprehensive change in approaches to infectious animal diseases, but they still have to be developed and put into effect, comments Lapinsky. According to Vladimir Kurlenko, there is a threefold task in the fight against ASF. First, it is necessary to enhance the biosecurity of the complexes up to the III-IV level of the compartment. Secondly, amendments should be made to the law on private household plots, which would facilitate accounting and control of farms containing animals, clarify their obligations in terms of compliance with veterinary rules and responsibility for their failure. Thirdly, it is necessary to reduce as much as possible the population of wild boars in the areas where the virus is spread. “But all these changes will not give the desired effect without the creation of a unified veterinary service in the country, which was fragmented after the reform and currently does not function well,” the expert emphasizes. - Only a set of all these measures and the creation of the necessary regulatory legal acts for their implementation are the minimum necessary measures to defeat the disease. "

“It cannot be said that very little is being done in the country at the moment to combat the disease, just the amount of work is colossal, it takes a lot of effort and personnel. The difficulty in making legally formalized decisions of the government also affects, "adds Kovalev. Significant progress began from the moment when amendments were made to the federal law "On Veterinary Medicine" and Ministry of Agriculture received the authority to develop and approve veterinary rules. Also, the document contains a provision on regionalization, which everyone was waiting for. The decision about it came out at the end of January and assumes its start on February 1 of this year.

Everyone should be responsible for maintaining biological safety, the wrong step of one link breaks the whole chain, says the head of the executive committee Sergei Yushin. Impressive fines are required for violation of veterinary rules, both for individuals and for businesses.

To resist ASF, according to Vladimir Kurlenko, changes in the rules of compartmentalization will help, which will establish a zoning radius of 500 m instead of 5 km, but will reduce the period of ASF welfare from three years to 12 months and approve the return of compartments III and IV at least eight months after canceling quarantine. The problem of breeding animals in private household plots should be partially solved with the introduction of new veterinary rules for keeping pigs. For private household plots (and other farms up to 1 thousand heads), requirements have been set for the conditions of keeping animals, including for distances, according to area norms, for feed, manure, waste disposal, etc. The requirements for the implementation of quarantine measures are clearly specified, prevention, diagnostic research, vaccinations and treatments against infectious diseases. And now all pigs are subject to mandatory registration and identification. This will allow you to control any actions with them and, of course, their movements.

It is private household plots that most of all violate veterinary and sanitary rules, says the deputy general director for agriculture of the group of companies “ Talina»Oleg Bukin. “The new veterinary rules now apply to everyone - both large holdings and private farms, no matter how many pigs a villager keeps, even having two piglets, now he must adhere to the rules,” he says. - Of course, owners of private household plots often do not have the ability, including financial ones, to fully monitor the health of pigs, properly maintain them, slaughter them, and organize the sale of meat. But in this industry, strict veterinary control must be ensured, complete isolation of animals from the outside world, etc. And from a purely economic point of view, artisanal pig breeding is not justified. " However, it is not always possible to check the fulfillment of these rules. So, according to Lapinsky, the powers for the unhindered admission of veterinarians to private household plots have not yet been established, which makes it almost impossible to conduct inspections. In addition, today there is no mandatory registration of animals, which makes it difficult to carry out antiepizootic measures in private farms.

Nobody says that private household plots need to be completely destroyed, as, for example, it was done in Spain. We just need rules, for non-observance of which real punishment will follow, Vladimir Kurlenko is sure. “It is difficult to monitor compliance with the rules, if only because we cannot say for sure how many household plots and farmers in our country keep pigs, everything rests on the question of animal identification,” adds Yushin. “By the way, I just don’t know civilized countries where pig breeding can still be done without registration”.

As for wild boars, most of the expert community votes for a decrease in their numbers, especially in regions with developed pig breeding. The problem is that wild boars are often found on the territory of hunting grounds, private estates, where they earn a lot of money. “We need to understand that forests and fields are not only a place for entertainment, but territories that potentially pose a threat to the country's economy,” the head comments.

Enterprise experience

The emergence of ASF has left its mark on pig production across the country: companies are more attentive to suppliers, bear the cost of maintaining a high level of biosecurity in enterprises and take into account possible risks when planning. Nevertheless, the losses from the virus are growing. The Crimean authorities estimate the damage from the introduction of ASF at more than 80 million rubles. Last year, the Volgograd region reimbursed private household plots and an agricultural enterprise for the destruction of more than 5 thousand animals in excess of 107 million rubles. In the Irkutsk Region, after the death of 40 pigs, about 1,000 pigs with a total weight of 65 tons were seized in private household plots in March this year, about 10 million rubles were spent on their purchase.

Large pork producers also suffered losses last year. Thus, the holding " Agroeco»Lost about 10% of the herd from ASF - 42 thousand pigs. Although, as the company representatives emphasized, the elimination of the consequences of the outbreak "will not have a significant impact" on the business. " Cherkizovo”Also faced the virus again. After the outbreak in the fall of 2016, 5.6 thousand sows and 9 thousand piglets were disposed of at the holding's enterprise in the Lipetsk region - 1% of the total livestock. Experts estimate the damage at about 130-150 million rubles. In the Krasnodar Territory, due to ASF outbreaks in 2016, more than 80 thousand pigs were destroyed, including a herd of Kuban Bacon (16 thousand animals) and Dan Kub (30 thousand).

Pig farms "Talin" (all sites contain 280 thousand pigs) are located in Mordovia and the Ulyanovsk region, the territory of which ASF has so far passed. But there is a serious threat of the spread of the virus, foci are emerging in neighboring regions. “All Talin pig farms have the highest zoosanitary status - compartment IV. At all sites, a set of preventive measures to prevent danger is being implemented: when entering the territory of pig farms, disinfection barriers and sanitary passes operate, workers can enter the premises where animals are kept only after taking a shower and completely changing clothes and shoes, says Bukin. “The pigs are kept in closed rooms that fully comply with the European level, equipped with automatic feeding systems, maintaining a microclimate and manure removal.” The buildings are also regularly subjected to disinfection, deratization (against rodents) and insectoacaricidal (against blood-sucking insects) treatment. For feeding the animals, sterilized and heat-treated feed is used. It is important that the feed is produced at the company's own plant from grain grown by the group's growers, the top manager emphasizes. Each batch of feed is tested in a modern laboratory.

Utilization and destruction of biological waste is carried out in accordance with all veterinary and sanitary rules. Veterinarians carry out awareness-raising work on the prevention of ASF not only among workers, but also among the population of nearby settlements. Employees of pig farms undertake not to keep pigs in private yards. In the regions where the Talin enterprises operate, a regular sale of pork at a reduced price is organized, Bukin shares. He is convinced that the most efficiently functioning structure, including the full chain: crop production, feed production, pig breeding, transport infrastructure, slaughter line, primary and deep meat processing. The main advantage of such a system is the reduction of production and economic risks.

The enterprises of the Synergy group are also located in prosperous regions. “We didn't have ASF. But, of course, every effort is being made to prevent it, "- comments the CEO of the company Alexander Pechersky. “We are constantly monitoring outbreaks, we stop cooperating with regions and enterprises that are on the list of disadvantaged ones. For example, with the European part of the country, where foci of the emergence of the virus are registered, with the Irkutsk region, he says. “We have a taboo on the purchase of ingredients and on interaction with agricultural enterprises in these territories.” Now measures to protect the perimeter of the enterprise from ASF drift have been intensified: additional disinfectants are purchased, and personnel are being trained. “Of course, I would like a vaccine to be developed against this disease. As long as there is no cure, ASF causes economic damage. Including our company, as it requires additional costs, "- says Pechersky.

« Miratorg»Also believes that ASF is the main threat to the development of pig breeding and a huge risk from the point of view of both existing pig breeding assets and to attract new investments into the sector. “To effectively combat this disease, it is necessary to recreate a unified veterinary service across the country, which will directly coordinate all the most important aspects of ensuring animal health and the operation of the biological safety system,” said Dmitry Sergeev, a company representative. " Miratorg»Has been working for a long time in the highest possible mode of biological safety control with strict restriction of any contact with pigs, except for specially trained employees. Vertical integration allows you to control the safety of both incoming feed and end products. “We do not allow our products and feeds to interfere with third-party products and feeds. In addition, all employees are strictly prohibited from keeping pigs on their own farms, as well as bringing any food to production sites, ”he says.

If a virus is still detected
In case of any suspicion of a disease, the owner must inform an official of the regional executive authority about it. Further, samples of pathological material are taken, and until their results are obtained, the activities of the farm or enterprise are actually frozen, the movement and regrouping of animals, as well as their slaughter, is prohibited. If, after difficult bureaucratic procedures, a decision is made on the need for quarantine, then the following rules are introduced at the enterprise: it is prohibited to visit the quarantine territory by anyone other than personnel and specialists of the state veterinary service, movement and regrouping of animals, their slaughter and sale (as well as all livestock and crop production, produced in the epizootic focus). You cannot hunt, and in relation to wild boars, only bloodless trapping methods are used. Then all pigs and products of slaughter are seized, disinfection barriers are erected at the entrance and entrance to the territory of the epizootic focus. It is obligatory for the personnel to change clothes when leaving the territory or to disinfect it. All vehicles are also subjected to decontamination. The outbreak is cleared of susceptible and stray animals, hunting grounds are monitored in order to detect deaths or carcasses of wild boars. Deratization (destruction of rodents) is being carried out.
Disinfection of premises and other places where pigs are kept is carried out in three stages: the first - immediately after the destruction of the animals, the second - after removing the wooden floors, partitions, feeders and conducting a thorough mechanical cleaning, the third - just before the quarantine is canceled. “When choosing a disinfectant, one should take into account its proven efficacy against the virus, safety for people, animals and the environment, ease of use and ease of control of the concentration of working solutions in accordance with the regulations for disinfection treatments,” recommends the representative of KRKA Pharma Olga Oleinikova (company is engaged in the development of drugs for humans and animals). According to the specialist, not all disinfectants are capable of acting on the virus in difficult conditions - at subzero temperatures or in the presence of organic contaminants. A separate problem is the influence of the human factor: control of the concentration of working solutions of the disinfectant and the maintenance of reporting documentation.
The abolition of quarantine in ASF-affected farms, settlements, and areas is carried out after the destruction of all pigs in the epizootic focus and the slaughter of pigs in the first threatened zone (this does not apply to farms classified in the IV compartment). The terms are indicated in the quarantine decree.

Persistent virus
ASF is quite resistant to various chemical and physical factors, it is sensitive to detergents (detergents and emulsifiers), soaps and all disinfectants subject to dehydration. The virus is able to persist for a long time in the external environment, in products of slaughter of pigs and dies during heat treatment for at least half an hour at a temperature of 70 ° C. The incubation period is from three to 15 days. The main source of the pathogen is sick and dead domestic pigs and wild boars, as well as any products made using meat and raw materials from infected animals. Transmission of the ASF pathogen occurs through direct contact with an infected animal, feeding food waste containing the virus, or contact with infected animal care products.

Denis Kolbasov
Director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Veterinary Virology and Microbiology
African swine fever, due to the lack of a vaccine, which in some cases is not only a means of preventing, but also covering up diseases, reflects the real picture of the state of affairs in the field of animal health. The introduction of lumpy skin disease, sheep pox, and avian influenza into the country has once again demonstrated that the causes and mechanisms of the spread of animal infections are the same as in ASF: the main role is played by people, not animals and viruses. The infection is not tolerated by itself - it is carried by a person as a result of his economic activities, even when it comes to wild animals. Therefore, without a change in the mentality of, first of all, animal owners and local officials, there is no reason to expect a change in the situation with the spread of this virus and other infections.

On the registration of an ASF outbreak at a large pig-breeding complex in the EU - livestock breeders are still defenseless against the threat to business

According to the official information at the disposal of the Rosselkhoznadzor from the competent services of the EU on the territory of Romania in the province of Tulcea, 77 outbreaks of ASF were registered in the population of domestic pigs in the period from June 28 to July 3 of this year.

It was noted that 75 outbreaks were registered in private household plots and two outbreaks in commercial enterprises of SC Carniprod SRL (slaughterhouse and pig farm). At the time of diagnosis, the farm contained 43,800 domestic pigs. According to the Romanian National Veterinary Sanitation and Food Safety Administration, all animals will soon be killed and destroyed. It should be noted that this is the first officially confirmed ASF outbreak in a Romanian commercial pig farm and the largest in the European Union. All this once again speaks of the vulnerability of pig farms with different levels of biosecurity to the ASF virus.

A total of 197 outbreaks of ASF in domestic pigs were identified in Tulcea province alone between June 10 and July 3, 2018, reportedly. However, according to official data in the OIE from 2017 to the beginning of July of this year, 147 foci of infection were notified in Romania (141 in domestic pigs and 6 in wild boars, Fig. 1).

picture 1.

Taking into account such a concentration of foci of infection for a short period in the border territories of Romania and, also unfavorable for ASF, the Odessa region of Ukraine (Figure 2.), it is worth talking about an emergency negative situation in the control of this disease on the part of the veterinary services of the two countries.

picture 2.

In general, the situation with this disease in the EU has an increasing trend of disadvantage and is aggravated by its manifestation in new territories (Fig. 3-4). According to open data from the Le Fleur Institute (Germany), in 2018, outbreaks of ASF were confirmed in 310 cases in domestic pigs and 3177 cases in wild boars.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Experienced Rosselkhoznadzor specialists show that such a development of an epizootic situation and a massive advance of infection in the Balkan direction is primarily associated with the presence of active uncontrolled movement of infected animals and pig products from the foci of infection, as well as the risk for ASF welfare for the countries of southern and central Europe. The Rosselkhoznadzor has repeatedly notified its European colleagues about this, who are implementing a “soft approach” in carrying out liquidation and preventive measures for ASF.

Content:

African swine fever (ASF, East African distemper, African fever) is a highly contagious, acute viral disease. The disease is characterized by chills, fever, cyanosis of mucous membranes, skin, hemorrhagic lesions of internal organs. Despite the fact that many infectious diseases of pigs belong to the group of zooanthroposonosis, ASF does not pose a threat to human health, but at the same time, the contagious infection spreads almost at lightning speed and causes the death of the entire livestock, which causes great damage to farms. The mortality rate when pigs are infected with the African plague virus among piglets, adults is 100%.

Etiology, distribution

ASF was first diagnosed in pigs at the beginning of the 20th century in South Africa. The disease was attributed to natural focal exotic infections, which were often diagnosed in populations of cultivated and wild pigs in Africa. Later, outbreaks of the disease were noted in Portugal, countries of Central and South America, Spain, and then in other countries of the world. In the Russian Federation, the CIS countries, ASF was first diagnosed in 2008.

The causative agent of the infectious disease is a DNA-containing virus of the Asfarviridae family, genus Asfivirus. There are two types of pathogen. namely: type A, B and subspecies C. African swine fever virus is resistant to high temperatures, various environmental factors. Does not lend itself to freezing, drying, decay. Keeps virulence in environments with a pH of 2 to 13. At a temperature of 5-7 degrees, it can persist up to six to seven 6-7 years under favorable conditions. In animal carcasses - from 15 days to 188 weeks. In feces, the ASF virus persists for up to 160 days. Not resistant to high temperatures.

At 55-60 degrees, heat treatments under the influence of high temperatures, the virus is inactivated in 10-12 minutes.

The main feature of this infection is that the disease can manifest itself in various symptoms, depending on what type of virus the animal is infected with.

All age groups of domestic, wild pigs, regardless of gender, breed, are susceptible to infection with the African plague virus.

Important! It is worth noting that the ASF virus is almost impossible to completely destroy in nature. In addition, to date, no preventive vaccine against the African plague virus has been developed. There are no effective medicines that can be used to combat this ailment.

Taking into account the numerous statistical data, epizootic foci most often occur in the countries of America and Europe with ASF-unfavorable conditions in the early spring, in the beginning of spring, during the cold season.

How pigs become infected

The ASF virus enters the body of animals by aerogenic (airborne), alimentary, through damaged mucous membranes, skin, conjunctiva. Infection is possible through equipment contaminated with pathogens, household items that were used in caring for sick pigs. poor-quality compound feed .. Untreated foodstuffs fed to animals can also cause ASFV infection.

The source of the spread of a deadly infection is infected sick individuals, animals during the incubation period, and pigs that have recovered. Intermediate carriers of the disease can be called rodents, wild birds, blood-sucking insects.

Having penetrated the body of a piglet, an adult, the pathogen infects macrophages, which leads to the activation of the transcription of free genes for the response of the body. The ASF virus is localized in the endothelial cellular structures of blood and lymphatic vessels, in mononuclear phagocytes, myeloid, lymphoid tissues of the organs of the immune system.

The virus, as its amount in the body of sick animals increases, has a cytopathic effect on lymphocytes and endothelial cells. Over time, necrosis of the vascular walls develops, the porosity of the vessels increases. The reproduction of the virus is accompanied by a cytopathic effect on lymphocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells.

Due to fibrinoid necrosis of the endothelium of blood vessels, the permeability of the vessel walls sharply increases, venous and inflammatory hyperemia, thrombosis, and leukopenia appear.

In serous, on mucous membranes, skin, in parenchymal organs after dissection of animal corpses, numerous hemorrhages are noticeable. In the lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen, extensive necrosis of myeloid tissues is formed. In sick pigs, the immune potential decreases, the immune defense weakens, and the natural resistance of the body decreases. The disease is fatal in 100% of cases.

Symptoms of the African plague

The intensity of the manifestation of clinical symptoms depends on the type of virus, the number of virions in the body of animals, the general physiological state, the reaction of the immune system, and the severity of the course of the infection. The incubation period ranges from two 2 to seven 7 days.

Important! In swine fever, symptoms can vary, and in any case, ASF results in the death of the infected animals.

African swine fever can occur overly acutely, acutely, rarely - chronically. As a rule, the first symptoms appear 2-5 days after infection. If plague is diagnosed, the symptoms of fulminant disease in pigs may be subtle. Sick individuals die within 24–48 hours without any characteristic manifestations of symptoms.

Signs of African swine fever:

a sharp rise in temperature up to 41, .5–-42 degrees;
an increase in regional lymph nodes;
decreased appetite, refusal of compound feed;
paresis, paralysis of the hind limbs;
violation of digestive processes (constipation, diarrhea with blood impurities);
anemicity, cyanosis (cyanosis) of the mucous membranes;
shortness of breath, shortness of breath;
subcutaneous edema, bruising in the subcutaneous tissue;
a sharp death of animals;
pneumonia.

Sick animals look apathetic, literally weaken before our eyes. Pigs have a hard time getting to their feet. Impaired coordination of movements. even after the slightest activity, infected animals get tired quickly. On palpation of the lymph nodes, severe pain is noted. Appetite is reduced or absent altogether.

A characteristic symptom that manifests itself in pigs infected with African plague is the appearance of dark purple spots with a red tint on the inner thigh, abdomen, neck, limbs, sides, back, patch, at the base of the ears.

Atypical form of ASF

Symptoms vary with each individual infected, due to a mutation in the virus. ASF can also occur in an atypical form, in which pigs suffer from profuse diarrhea, variable fever. Bruises are noticeable on the ears, tail, limbs, patch, and on the body. Animals get weaker, lose weight, do not gain weight. The skin is covered with wrinkles, strongly compacted. Signs of conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis are clearly manifested. The infection is fatal, usually on the third day after the first symptoms appear. The mortality rate is 30-65%.

The atypical form of ASF is most often diagnosed in suckling piglets that were weaned early from the sow, in young animals that had contact with virus carriers or were infected with mildly virulent strains of the virus. At the same time, some of the piglets recover without treatment. The rest die or are life-long virus carriers. The disease can be complicated by secondary infections.

Diagnostics, treatment

The diagnosis of ASF can be made only after comprehensive diagnostics and laboratory tests. Veterinarians take into account the epizootic situation of African plague in the regions, conduct an examination of animals, and carry out differential diagnostics.

The diagnosis is also made on the basis of the results of pathological, serological studies. Blood samples are taken from pigs, fragments of internal organs (spleen, lymph nodes) are taken from corpses. The biomaterial must be examined as soon as possible in laboratories.

If pigs are diagnosed with African plague in pigs, unfortunately, no treatment methods have been developed to combat this disease. There are no effective veterinary medications, therefore, the main forces should be directed to the implementation of preventive measures. When the first symptoms appear in large farms, animals are vaccinated. This technique will help to save part of the uninfected livestock. The rest of the pigs are slaughtered.

Advice! If suspected of being infected with the African plague virus, pigs are poured into the mouth with 100-150 g of vodkit. As a rule, diseased individuals recover.

The corpses of sick animals, inventory, feed, manure are burned. Ash is mixed with lime and buried deep in the ground. In pigsties, complete complex disinfection is carried out using hot 3% sodium hydroxide solution, formaldehyde 2%. The quarantine is removed no earlier than six months later, and pig breeding can only be done after 12 months.

At a distance of 10–12 km from the unfavorable point, all pigs are killed. The meat is used for processing into canned meat.

Prevention of ASF

In order to prevent swine from becoming infected with African plague in pig farms, it is necessary to monitor the quality of feed, the state of the immune system of animals. It is regularly necessary to carry out disinfection and deratization in the premises. You can not use non-disinfected new equipment.

Feed should be purchased in regions where ASF outbreaks have not been reported. Before feeding food of animal origin, it is necessary to carry out heat treatment.

Pigs should not be allowed to come into contact with other carnivores, inhabitants of neighboring farms and farms.

Purchase new individuals only with veterinary documents. After keeping the pigs in quarantine for some time.

Slaughter of animals must be carried out in places specially designated for this purpose. At the slightest suspicion of infection with the African plague virus, the pigs are isolated and placed in a separate room. You immediately need to contact a veterinarian for a comprehensive diagnosis.