The ASF virus was found at the Agrocomplex meat processing plant named after N. I. Tkachev

DIRECTOR of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology, DOCTOR of Veterinary Sciences, Professor Denis Kolbasov said that the situation with ASF in RUSSIA in 2023 is not fundamentally different from last year and the year before. The state has made significant efforts to update the regulatory framework for ASF control, modern tools and methods for diagnosing the disease, electronic certification systems and traceability of livestock products have been developed and put into practice, he says.

Taking into account the peculiarities of this infection, which consists in the low contagiousness of the disease and the simple mechanism of transmission of the virus either by sick animals or through infected products, the situation could have been brought under control a long time ago, Kolbasov believes. This would be possible if animal owners promptly notified the state veterinary service of suspected disease, so that veterinarians could take timely measures to eliminate foci of infection and prevent its further spread.

Facts indicate that animal owners are in no hurry to report suspected infection, not only in private farms, but also in agricultural enterprises, Kolbasov noted. This leads to the uncontrolled spread of infection. “Without the help and support of pig owners, it is unlikely that it will be possible to cope with the problem in the foreseeable future, and a similar situation will be repeated from year to year,” he believes.

On September 15, three more ASF outbreaks were detected in the Krasnodar Territory, the region’s operational headquarters reported. The first outbreak was identified in the dining room of the village of Eremizino-Borisovskaya, Tikhoretsk district. More than 50 kg of pork infected with the ASF virus was found there. All products were produced at the Agrokompleks company named after N.I. Tkachev and are subject to destruction. Also, in a forest plantation on the territory of the Kuybyshevsky rural settlement (Kalininsky district), ASF-infected corpses of two pigs and slaughter products from a third pig were found. All biological waste was destroyed and disinfected. Also, contaminated semi-finished products were found in the Novorossiysk distribution center of the Agrocomplex named after. N. I. Tkacheva.

In early September, an outbreak of ASF was discovered on the pig farms of the Impulse enterprise in the Kushchevsky district of Kuban; later, sick animals were identified on the farms of the Agrocomplex named after. N.I. Tkachev in the Bryukhovetsky district and the Novosergievskoye company in the Krylovsky district, then an outbreak occurred at the Delimit pig farm of the Kuban Bacon company (a structure of the Agrocomplex named after N.I. Tkachev).

It also became known today that DNA of the ASF virus was found in sausages produced in the Vladimir region. Products of the companies “Old Believer Sausages” and “Vladimir Standard” were withdrawn from stores in the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic.

Last week in Vladimir, at the warehouse complex of the company “Abi” (produces products under the brands “Starodvorye”, “Vyazanka”, “Yadrena Soot”, “Hot Thing”, etc.), MEAT contaminated with ASF was found in refrigerated trucks . As a result of the control measures carried out, it was established that there may be risks of detecting the genome of the ASF virus in the pork raw materials of one of the suppliers, the Abi press service reported then. In this regard, it was decided to establish a quarantine and isolate two refrigerated trucks with these raw materials in an external buffer warehouse.