Korniienko L.

African Swine Fever (ASF) belongs to the viral-infectious diseases, which inflict enormous economic losses on the pig industry. The state and farmers bear high costs for the elimination of the consequences of the disease. According to expert estimates, during the period of trouble ASF has prevented Ukraine from earning an additional $ 12 million in exports of pork, and the losses from this disease at the beginning of 2018, exceed 1 billion UAH.

In Ukraine, for the first time, African swine fever was registered in 1977 in the Odessa region. Due to the severe measures taken, the disease was localized and eliminated in two months.

In independent Ukraine the first case of ASF was recorded in 2012 in the Primorsk district of the Zaporozhye region among privately owned pigs. There were no registered cases of ASF in 2013, or might be that they were not shown. In 2014 this epizootic began to spread. In total, for 2014 there were 16 outbreaks of ASF registered, 4 of which in the Luhansk region: 3 cases of wild pigs and 1 in the private sector; 11 in Chernihiv region (8 with wild boars and 3 among domestic pigs, where contact with wildlife is not excluded); 1 outbreak  took place in the Sumy region among wild pigs. After analyzing the epizootic situation with ASF in 2014, it has been found that the virus was introduced into the territory of Ukraine by wild pigs from the unfavorable territories of the Russian Federation.

In 2015 the ASF virus spread in Ukraine to the western (Zhytomyr and Rivne regions) and southern parts (Mykolayiv, Odessa regions) and the central part (Kyiv, Poltava and Cherkasy region). During 2015 there were 40 registered outbreaks of ASF in 9 regions, namely: in Chernihiv region 13 outbreaks in 9 districts; in Kyiv and Sumy regions 6 outbreaks respectively; in Poltava region – 5; Mykolaiv region – 4; Odesa and Rivne regions both with 2 cases; Zhytomyr and Cherkasy regions 1 case respectively. Out of 40 outbreaks in 34 cases the disease was registered among domestic pigs. Consequently, as in 2014 most cases of ASF were registered among wild pigs, and then in 2015 this infection was diagnosed on domestic pigs, where people played an important role in the spread of the virus.

In 2016 91 outbreaks of ASF (84 among domestic and 7 wild swine) in 16 regions of Ukraine were confirmed, and in 2017 – 163 cases (119 among domestic, 38 among wild and 6 infected objects) in 23 regions of Ukraine.

From January 1 to February 22, 2018 37 cases of ASF were officially registered, including 18 outbreaks in January 2018. If in 2014 cases of African plague were fixed once every 13 or 30 days, then in 2017 and 2018 this infection in Ukraine is recorded every two days. During the last two years, ASF was diagnosed in all regions of Ukraine.

The largest outbreaks of African Swine Fever were recorded in Poltava (38), Odessa (36), Chernihiv (30), Mykolaiv (30) and Kharkiv (25) regions. According to the results of monitoring studies of the epizootic situation in Ukraine in total from 2012 to 22.02.2018, 348 cases of African swine fever were officially recorded.

While investigating the spread of ASF in the Ltd. “Ichnya” around the village Yuzhne of Ichnyanksy district of Chernihiv region in January-February 2018, in Vradiyivka village (Vradievsky district, Mykolaiv region), on the territory of the hunting grounds of LLC "Hunters and Fishermen of Belousovka" LLC (Voznesensk district of Mykolaiv region), we established the scale and pace of geographical distribution of the disease. The involvement of different categories, age groups and breeds of different types of pigs, as well as livestock populations of European wild boar in the epizootic process, have made ASF one of the major veterinary problems for pig breeding of Ukraine.

Significantly complicates the situation with ASF the penetration of the virus into the population of wild pigs, whose high density in the north of the country (especially in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant) creates additional risks for long-term rooting of the disease.

In our opinion, the key role in supporting this infection in Ukraine is played by the sector of extensive pig breeding (more than 50% in Ukraine are households and subsidiary pig farms), where biosafety is violated. There is no sanitary inspection system and they do not plan to implement it. Therefore, outbreaks of the disease are extremely difficult to prevent, monitor, and take adequate measures to locate them.

In European countries already there are worked out state action plans for the prevention and prevention of the spread of AFS, which envisage the massive destruction of wild boars and the ban on keeping pigs in the private sector. If there are outbreaks of these diseases on negative clean farms, then they can not be stopped. A similar action plan in Ukraine has not been developed.

According to the results of the conducted analysis, it was found that a significant complication of the epizootic situation in Ukraine with AFS occurred during the reorganization of the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service (2014 – 2016). The State Committee for Consumer Safety and Consumer Protection, created in 2016, could no longer improve the epizootic situation with AFS, as the disease has already spread over the 16 regions of Ukraine.

To eliminate, localize and prevent the spread of ASF in Ukraine, it is necessary to do the following steps:

Renew the functions of the veterinary police on the implementation of quarantine veterinary measures, which were disbanded in 2015;

To approve and implement the state target comprehensive program for the prevention and control of ASF in 2017-2022, developed by the Association of Animal Breeding of Ukraine together with experts and scientists;

Improve the system of diagnosis of ASF to the level of other developed countries, to create its reference laboratory on the basis of one of the research institutes, as it is created in the European countries;

Regularly carry out the explanatory work by the veterinary service among the population and farmers about the danger of ASF and measures on biosecurity in farms and enterprises whose activity is related to the turnover of pigs;

To prevent the movement of pigs (raw materials, products from them) on the territory of Ukraine without veterinary documents;

The owners of animals (physical and legal persons) should register all animals, according to the Article 34. The Law of Ukraine "On Veterinary Medicine" (2006), in state veterinary medicine authorities and introduce electronic numbers, which will allow to found out the owners of abandoned animal corpses on roadside and landfill sites, and to impose fines in such a situation;

Prohibit trade in live pigs in unacceptable places and spontaneous markets, slaughter of pigs for sale of slaughter products on the markets without a preliminary clinical examination by a veterinary expert;

To ensure the keeping of pigs in closed, securely isolated premises and to prevent third parties from accessing such territory;

Do not use food waste in a non-infected form for feeding pigs;

To provide compensation for the material damage caused by ASF to the owners of animals, this will allow control of the epizootic situation.

Compensation is a key point for the owner (farmer) to timely inform the State Veterinary Service regarding outbreak of animal disease. Compensation must be paid for corpses, sick or infected or involuntarily killed, if this is connected with the liquidation of the ASF. Compensation should also be for property if it was destroyed in the fire. The amount of compensation should correspond to the market price for the period of destruction of animals and other tangible assets.

Key words: African swine fever, monitoring researches, outbreaks, cases, biological defense, epizootic situation, distributions, dysfunctional point, domestic and wild pigs, registration, farms of different forms of property, fight against disease, shooting, destruction, epizootic well-being, forecasting, measures, risks.