Several deadly diseases approach Bashkiria

“Now the main risks for the livestock industry are two diseases: African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza, since the mortality rate when they occur is high and can reach 100 percent,” the HEAD of the ministry said. - In the event of diseases, serious restrictions are imposed on the sale of products for a long time.

In 2022, 141 outbreaks of African swine fever were registered in 32 regions of the Russian Federation, of which 48 percent among domestic pigs and 52 percent among wild boars. The disease has gone into the wild.

Azat Ziganshin emphasized that the main factors for the spread of swine fever are: the presence of pigs in poorly protected farms (especially in private farms) and the population of wild boars.

According to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 7, 2022 No. 3789-r, it is recommended to create 30-kilometer buffer zones around pig-breeding complexes 30 kilometers wide, in which it is necessary to provide for the possibility of withdrawing up to 100 percent of the wild boar population. It is also recommended to take measures to convert poorly protected pig-breeding enterprises with a low level of biological protection (including household plots) to alternative types of animal husbandry.

Azat Ziganshin said that as of January 1 of this year, there are more than 569 thousand heads of pigs in Bashkortostan, of which only 13 thousand (more than two percent) are in personal subsidiary plots, more than 97 percent are in agricultural enterprises.

Wild boars and domestic pigs in private households (or poorly protected farms) are frequent links in the chain of entry of the virus into the pig complex.

The virus is quite persistent, highly contagious, has the ability to persist for a long time on various surfaces. Therefore, it is especially important to break this chain near large pig farms.

On the territory of the Volga and Ural federal districts, numerous outbreaks of swine fever are recorded. At the same time, the distance from the outbreaks in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Orenburg region to our borders does not exceed 100 kilometers. In conditions of total shooting, wild boars in fear migrate to calmer territories. For a wild boar, 100 kilometers is the distance that it can cover in a day.

Azat Ziganshin stated that the epizootic situation of highly pathogenic avian influenza remains tense, especially in spring. In 2022, 56 avian influenza foci were registered in the Russian Federation. In 2021, 68 outbreaks were registered (five of them in the Tuymazinsky and Blagovarsky districts of Bashkiria). The foci were successfully closed, spread was not allowed. The prosperous status of the republic was restored and maintained throughout 2022. To minimize the risks, a number of additional measures must be taken and ensured.

“We are surrounded by regions that are unfavorable for contagious diseases of farm animals and birds. The risks remain high, vigilance must not be lowered, - commented Andrey Nazarov, Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Belarus.