African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious disease that affects both domestic pigs (DPs) and wild boar (WB). The WB population plays an important role in the spread of ASF as the WB acts as a natural reservoir of the virus and transmits it to other susceptible wild and domestic pigs. Our study was aimed at revealing the areas with a high concentration of the WB population, and their potential relationships with the grouping of ASF cases in WB during the course of the ASF spread in the Russian Federation (2007–2022). We collected the annual data on WB numbers by municipalities within the regions of the most intensive ASF spread. We then conducted spatiotemporal analysis to identify clustering areas of ASF cases and compare them with the territories with a high density of WB population. We found that some of the territories with elevated ASF incidence in WB demonstrated spatial and temporal coincidence with the areas with a high WB population density. We also visualized the zones (“emerging hot spots”) with a statistically significant rise in the WB population density in recent years, which may be treated as areas of paramount importance for the application of surveillance measures and WB population control.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers brucellosis to be one of the most dangerous and spread zoonosis in the world. The aim of the review is to summarize the current scientific data on the brucellosis in animals, to analyze the epizootic situation in the Russian Federation, Arctic Zone included, and to define the key factors of animal protection against the infection. The epizootic situation for brucellosis in farm animals, which are carriers of the three main pathogens of brucellosis, is an urgent epidemiological problem. Their widespread occurrence is the factor determining the world-wide distribution of pathogens in most countries that indicates for the importance of control the brucellosis on an international scale. In Russia, a high epizootic risk of the spread of the disease is observed in the regions of the Volga, Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts, in southern Siberia and Far East as well as in the Arctic. Brucellosis has the same epizootic and epidemiological significance in the Arctic regions considering the national food preferences of the peoples of the Far North. In the Russian Arctic, epizootic foci of brucellosis in cattle and reindeer have been identified and evidence of the epidemiological significance and ecological association of B. suis with the reindeer population has been presented. Specific prophylaxis of brucellosis is based on the use of vaccines. However, the problem of reindeer vaccination has not been finally resolved.

Avian influenza viruses are epidemiologically dangerous zoonotic pathogens that can cause high morbidity and mortality both in animals and in humans. Reassortment and antigenic shift in the genome of the avian influenza virus draw to a change in its properties: host range, virulence, and other factors. The natural reservoir of avian influenza is wild waterfowl, which can transmit the virus to poultry through the direct contact. The exchange of antigenic sites of viruses occurs over several months in the traditional wintering grounds of migratory birds. Avian influenza viruses with altered genes as a result of reassortment, circulating in wild migratory birds, carry epizootic threat of spread of the disease to the unharmed areas. In this review of highly pathogenic avian influenza there has been analyzed the epizootic situation and possible vaccination strategies that exist in the world. The spatial trend in the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation was determined using the GIS tool, Median Center in the working environment of the ArcGIS Pro software. Based on the review of selected literature, it has been established that vaccination itself is not considered a solution to the problem. Without monitoring systems, stringent biosecurity and population reduction in case of outbreaks, the control and eradication of the disease is impossible. The decision to vaccinate against avian influenza should be made on a case-by-case basis, weighing all the risks of further spread and mutation of the virus. All industrial poultry enterprises exporting the products must operate in a closed mode and be excepted from the list of vaccination.

This study aims to identify the role of various natural, socioeconomic, and demographic factors in the development of the African swine fever (ASF) epizootic among wild boar in the Russian Federation (RF) from 2007 to 2023. In this study, particular emphasis was placed on testing the significance of wild boar population density as a key factor contributing to the spread of ASF within this population. During the study period, 1711 outbreaks in wild boars were reported in the RF, accounting for 41.7% of all ASF outbreaks in the country. We tested two regression approaches to model the dependance of the total number of ASF outbreaks in second‐level municipal units (districts) on a range of potential explanatory factors, including the dynamically changing annual population density of wild boar. We employed negative binomial regression (NBR) and, as an alternative approach, classification and regression trees (CARTs). The predictive capabilities of both models were evaluated using 10‐fold cross‐validation. One of the most significant identified factors was the number of ASF outbreaks in domestic populations, which may indicate a close coexistence of both domestic and wild ASF cycles. Population density showed limited significance in the negative binomial model ( p = 0.05). The CART model demonstrated high significance for this factor in the Far Eastern regions of the country, where the highest number of outbreaks occurred at density values above 0.120 individuals/km ² . For the European part of the RF, the threshold density value was 0.026 individuals/km ² , which closely corresponds to the threshold established by country’s authorities for managing wild boar populations to prevent the spread of ASF. The results demonstrated a complex and nonlinear influence of wild boar population density and ASF outbreaks among domestic pigs on the likelihood of new infection foci emerging in the wild fauna. The modeling results indicated that although both types of models had comparable predictive capabilities, the CART approach provided better visualization and understanding of the analysis results. These findings can be used to optimize population management activities to regulate wild boar numbers in infection hotspots across different geographical areas delineated by the risk level of infection spread.

Malignant catarrhal fever is a non-contagious infectious disease that occurs sporadically in the population of cattle and wild artiodactyls. The source of the causative agent of the disease is wildebeest, sheep, and goats, in which the infectious process is usually asymptomatic. The manifestation of clinical and pathological signs is variable, often characterized by damage to the nervous, respiratory and digestive systems, in the organs and tissues of which signs of lymphocytic and histiocytic vasculitis are noted. Diagnosis of the disease is carried out comprehensively using clinical and histological methods, but the main method is the detection of viral DNA in the material using PCR. However, control and prevention of the disease have a number of difficulties due to insufficient efficiency of diagnostic measures, lack of vaccines and outdated regulatory framework. There are no commercially available kits for diagnosing the disease in Russia. This diagnosis is available to research organizations, where complex research protocols are used. Due to insufficient knowledge of the pathogenesis, attempts to create effective vaccines against malignant catarrhal fever have not yet been successful, which does not allow for the full implementation of preventive measures. Regulatory acts defining approaches to control and elimination of the disease have not been updated for more than 20 years. The complex of these problems significantly distorts the objective epizootic situation on malignant catarrhal fever and contributes to its hidden spread with unclear economic and economic damage.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is classified by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as a Schedule A disease. Given the potential for rapid spread of the disease, all suspected cases should be reported and investigated immediately. Understanding the mechanism of FMD spread and control measures is key to outbreak investigation and allows the source of an outbreak to be traced along with potential routes of further spread. Foot-and-mouth disease is endemic in vast areas of Africa, Asia and South America. In 2022, the following countries remain unfavorable for FMD: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Israel, Indonesia, UAE, Palestine, Algeria, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Tunisia, South Africa. In Russia, in 2022, foot and mouth disease was not registered. There are seven serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus: O, A, C, Asia 1, SAT 1, SAT 2 and SAT 3. Cattle, buffalo, sheep, pigs, goats, African buffalo, deer, yaks and other artiodactyls are susceptible to it. The two principle ways in which an animal can become infected are by inhalation of virus particles in the air, and by ingestion of food material containing virus particles, also through abrasions, contaminated instruments or artificial insemination. Up to 50 % of ruminant animals become persistently infected after clinical recover and termed a "carrier". Key risk factors for virus introduction are the introduction of a new animal into the herd with an unknown FMD vaccination status, seasonality, lack of vaccination, herd size. The cause of infection is often the uncontrolled or illegal movement of livestock. The main risk of FMD introduction comes from livestock, vehicles, people directly working with livestock susceptible to FMD, wild animals. The key principles of biosecurity are isolation of sick animals, cleaning and disinfection of premises and equipment. Foot-and-mouth disease is a major barrier to international trade in livestock and animal products, so countries free of the disease are taking increased precautions to prevent the virus from entering.