New ASF cases have been found in domestic pigs in the Samarskaya Oblast, the Sverdlovskaya Oblast, the the Khabarovski Krai and the Republic of Bashkortostan.
New African swine fever outbreaks in the wild boar population have been registered in the Amurskaya Oblast (3 cases), the Primorski Krai (1 case) and the Republic of South Ossetia (1 case).
According to the regulator, 268 cases of the disease were confirmed in Russia in 2021 - 93 cases in the wild boar and 175 cases in domestic pigs.
Poor biosecurity of pigs at the farm level is one of the reasons for the ASF spread in Russia, Maksim Uvaidov, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia said earlier in an interview with the Veterinary Medicine and Life.
“All government measures for the ASF prevention and control are set out in the veterinary rules and other regulations. But what do we sometimes observe when an outbreak is detected in the private household, or in the wild boar population? Quarantine areas are established on an unreasonably minimal territory, without taking into account economic relations between pig producers and consumers, and the current threats. I'm talking about the size of the protective and surveillance zones. As a result, the disease cannot be contained and continues to spread leading to the new ASF outbreaks,” Maksim Uvaidov said.
The Deputy Minister noted that the compliance with the veterinary rules can significantly increase the level of biosecurity on the pig farms.
African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease affecting pigs and wild boars with up to 100% mortality. Currently, there is no commercial vaccine or effective treatment for African swine fever. It is worth noting that the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Victoria Abramchenko asked the government to develop and introduce an ASF vaccine for farm animals by 2024.
Wild boars are the natural reservoirs for the African swine fever virus.
Pigs and wild boars infected with the ASF virus experience high fever, vomiting, diarrhea which may later become bloody. The disease does not pose a risk to human health, however, the scientists fear that the ASF virus could further mutate.
