Geo-ecological manifestation of erysipelas of pigs on territory of the Odessa region (1960-2016)

A retrospective analysis on the pathogen of pigs for more than half a century was performed. Comprehensive studies of primary material using, in addition to the classical methods, special methods of landscape-ecological and landscape-epizootic assessments, have made it possible to build an infection monitoring system taking into account the geography, history and ecology of a particular area. The article displays the long-term dynamics of the epizootic stress level of Erysipelas pigs on the territory of the Odessa region, a detailed review of which reveals certain patterns of manifestation of this infectious disease. At the same time, the presence of geographical and landscape-ecological features of the epizootic process within the regional territory was reliably confirmed. The latter acquire their manifestation only against the background of the absence of the vaccination factor, which leveled the geographical and ecological specificity of the manifestation of the disease in animal husbandry of the region. With low activity of this factor, the highest rates of registration of swine erysipelas were typical for wetlands of the south-western districts of the region, as well as for areas with a powerful river-beam network and for the northern forest-steppe regions, where humus-rich black soil dominates. A significant dependence is shown on the part of geographic and landscape-ecological factors and, in particular, the importance of soil as one of the reservoirs, transfer factors, and possibly as a secondary source of domestic pig infection, ensuring its initial circulation phases through nutritional pathways. As a hypothetical possibility that requires further experimental verification, it was suggested that the residual groundwater reservoirs could be involved in maintaining and restoring strains capable of transition from sapronosis to parasitic development.