ASF outbreaks have become more frequent in Russia. In summer, foci of the disease are traditionally recorded more often.

Recently, outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) have become more frequent in RUSSIA. So, recently it was recorded at the production site of PskovAgroInvest - the Sovkhoz Shelonsky pig farm, where 36 thousand pigs are subject to destruction. But this is an isolated case of the disease in industrial production - as a rule, now it is spreading in household plots and wild fauna.

For example, ASF quarantine was introduced in a number of rural settlements in the Oryol region, and ten outbreaks have been identified in the Kaluga region since the beginning of July. Two villages in the Tula region have also been quarantined. In the Gornomariysky district of Mari El, when examining the internal organs and lymph nodes of dead pigs, the ASF virus was detected; in the Kostroma region, four settlements remain quarantined due to the disease.

In the Pskov region, the state of emergency due to the spread of the disease was introduced in six districts and in Pskov itself. The governor of the region, Mikhail Vedernikov, instructed to regulate the population of wild boars in the region in order to prevent the further spread of the disease. “It is absolutely clear that if the problem of the spread of ASF is not addressed promptly, it could potentially cause very serious damage to the economy of the Pskov region,” said Vedernikov (quoted from NW24).

“Unfortunately, every year with the beginning of summer, due to more frequent trips to the forest and heat, the situation with ASF worsens. Those cases that were in late autumn and winter with outbreaks at large enterprises are isolated, ”said Yury Kovalev, general DIRECTOR of the National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS). Now, according to him, ASF is detected, as a rule, in the wild fauna and private farms, with the exception of the situation at the PskovAgroInvest enterprise, where the outbreak was caused by a human factor.

ASF is a serious problem that requires a systematic approach. Kovalyov says that work to prevent its spread is ongoing, including meetings of the government commission on epizootic safety led by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko, during which situations in the regions are considered. But due to a number of reasons, including a misunderstanding with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology, the hunting community, it has not yet been possible to develop effective methods for reducing the wild boar population in regions with developed pig breeding. And this is one of the main reasons for new outbreaks. “There are also natural reasons - vast territories, forests, the impossibility of using modern means, for example, aircraft. But the struggle to ensure that all these resources can be applied normatively is ongoing,”

Also, the spread of ASF is facilitated by private household plots and the low level of veterinary control over them. But a lot of work is being done in this direction, a lot has been done. In particular, within the framework of the law “On Veterinary Medicine”, rules for keeping pigs were developed, which are also mandatory for private household plots, but there is still no effective tool for monitoring their implementation. “We also hope that this year changes will be made to the law “On Veterinary Medicine” in terms of introducing a mandatory identifier, which will have to be used in both small and private farms,” adds Kovalev.

Measures to combat the spread of ASF are being developed and applied, but the misunderstanding on the part of the population of the full depth of the economic and, consequently, social consequences of the outbreak does not allow moving at a faster pace, the HEAD of the NSS believes. “As for industrial enterprises, we are now working together with the Ministry of Agriculture on a system for tightening requirements for compartments of the third and fourth levels,” says Kovalev. “On the other hand, the owners and managers of enterprises should, among other things, conduct special preliminary exercises for the team.” And the issue of the spread of ASF should be paid attention throughout the year, and not just in the summer, he concluded.