Active and passive monitoring of African swine fever in the wild boar population in the Russian Federation

The purpose of research is to study the active and passive monitoring of African swine fever (ASF) carried out in the Russian Federation, as well as to carry out a retrospective analysis of reported outbreaks of the disease in the wild boar population to determine the most effective control measures. The objects of the study are data on notified outbreaks of ASF in the wild boar population of disadvantaged subjects of Russia, collected in a single database adapted for GIS analysis. A retrospective analysis of ASF outbreaks and zoning of the territories of subjects according to the level of risk of infection for the wild boar population was carried out in terms of the distribution of animals found dead or their remains, as well as hunted with a confirmed diagnosis. Outbreak data was obtained from the regional veterinary services of the constituent entities of Russia. As a result of a retrospective analysis of ASF outbreaks among the wild boar population, it was found that the effectiveness of monitoring activities is due to a greater extent to the detection of positive carcasses and remains of wild boars, this is in good agreement with the literature data on the importance of passive monitoring of this infection in European countries. Also, as a result of the GIS analysis, the subjects of the Russian Federation were identified, on the territory of which zones of high risk of new ASF epizootics are formed. These territories include the subjects of the Far East Region, the center of the European part of Russia - Ryazan, Orel, Tula, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow Regions, also the Kaliningrad Region, and some subjects of the southeast of the European part of the country - Samara, Saratov and Rostov Regions. Thus, in order to increase the effectiveness of the anti-epizootic measures applied, especially in those regions where the main task is the elimination of ASF, it is necessary to focus the main efforts on carrying out special measures to search for corpses and remains of wild boars - passive monitoring.