Heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) is one of the most widespread economically relevant diseases of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and it poses serious danger to its aquaculture. The disease was first reported in Norway in 1999. In 2006, the Norwegian researchers demonstrated its viral etiology. Heart and skeletal muscle inflammation is a novel and understudied highly contagious transboundary disease of Salmonidae characterized by erythrocyte damage, blood circulation failure, jaundice and aggregated signs of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation. The disease associated economic damage to aquaculture is enormous. Total cumulative mortality can reach 30% and morbidity can amount to 100%. Loss of quality of the commercial fish products due to melanised foci in the salmons’ muscles further increases the disease-associated economic losses. Aquacultured Atlantic salmon is the most susceptible to HSMI. Rainbow trout, chub salmon and bull trout are also susceptible species and the list is still being continued. The disease is caused by the virus belonging to genus Orthoreovirus in the family Reoviridae. Currently Piscine orthoreovirus demonstrates the tendency towards its global spread. The virus-induced disease is reported in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Alaska. The majority of the outbreaks are registered in Central and Northern parts of Norway, which borders the Murmansk Oblast. The vicinity of the affected areas to Russia, the Gulf Stream passing the Norwegian shore while moving towards the Murmansk Oblast as well as wild Salmonidae migration to the Barents Sea, White Sea and Pechora Sea through the Norwegian territorial waters coupled with high stability of the virus compose high threat of Piscine orthoreovirus introduction to the Russian Federation from the adjacent countries.

Today viral fish diseases cause major losses in the world aquaculture. Pathogen spread often occurs during the transportation of fish from infected farms to the disease-free ones. Therefore, the import of fish stocking material to Russia from countries with a different epidemic situation requires risk-based monitoring and forecasting. Diagnostics is of primary importance in the complex of measures to prevent the spread of viral infections in fish. To date, laboratory diagnostics of viral fish diseases is based on pathogen isolation and its identification using serological methods which require a lot of time and are performed only in large research institutes with specialized laboratories. Molecular diagnostic methods are more sensitive and high-performance. The article presents the results of using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to detect a number of highly dangerous viral diseases of fish (Salmonidae). As a result of this work, primers were selected and the temperature and time conditions of the reaction were optimized for the identification of infectious hematopoietic necrosis, viral hemorrhagic septicemia and infectious salmon anemia. The results obtained during the research allowed us to establish that this diagnostic method is highly specific with analytical sensitivity to infectious salmon anemia virus of 2.5 lg TCD50/сm3, to infectious hematopoietic necrosis – 2.9 lg TCD50/сm3 and to viral hemorrhagic septicemia – 4.2 lg TCD50/ сm3. The described method was used to identify reference and field strains available at the FGBI ARRIAH Reference Laboratory for Aquaculture Diseases and isolated in different years in fish farms in the territory of the Russian Federation. The research data correlated with the results obtained from virus neutralization in cell culture and ELISA performed using commercial kits. The proposed method of RT-PCR allows to detect pathogens both in fish with pronounced clinical signs and in latent virus carriers.

At present, Miramistin drug (benzyldimethyl [3-(myristoylamino) propyl] ammonium chloride monohydrate), which has a broad bactericidal effect, is used in veterinary practice. This antiseptic is active against most viruses, mycoplasmas, bacteria, fungi and protozoa. According to toxicometric parameters, Miramistin is classified as a low-hazard substance. Use of cell structures as test systems for assessing the toxicity of pharmacological substances instead of conventional tests on experimental animals allows us to better clarify the possible mechanism of the effect of the investigated substance. Since many types of mycoplasmas affect the genitourinary system organs, to assess the cytotoxicity of Miramistin kidney mammalian cells of various mammals can be used as test systems, in particular, the newborn Syrian hamster (VNK-21), Siberian mountain ibex (PSGK-30), and others. The possibility of using BHK-21 and PSGK-30 cell monolayer as test systems for assessing the baseline cytotoxicity of Miramistin was shown. When studying toxicity of the drug, the effect of its various concentrations on the cell morphology was studied, the number of viable cells and the total protein content were determined as an indicator of the cell mass increase. The results of a cytomorphological study indicate that the Miramistin maximum permissible concentration of for BHK-21 and PSGK-30 cell monolayer is 25 μg/cm3. The use of this antibacterial drug in higher concentrations caused the appearance and increased signs of endogenous intoxication and degeneration. When evaluating the proliferative activity of cells under the influence of the Miramistin antibiotic in different concentrations, it was found that increasing the dose to 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 μg/cm3 leads to decrease in the rate of cell growth compared to the control. The Miramistin content in the growth medium in an amount of up to 25 μg/cm3 did not affect the intensity of protein synthesis. Presence of Miramistin in the culture medium at the maximum permissible concentration causes a slight decrease in the reproduction of foot and mouth disease virus in BHK-21 and PSGK-30 cell cultures by 4.5 and 4.0%, respectively, compared with the control without antibiotic. Since mycoplasmas are the most common contaminants of cell cultures, further studies will be aimed at exploring the possibility of using Miramistin for decontamination of BHK-21 and PSGK-30 cell monolayers.  

Despite all the efforts made, the issue of rabies in the world does not lose its relevance. As an acute endemic infection, it poses a considerable danger to both animals and humans. The leading role in the transmission of rabies to humans belongs to diseased dogs; stray animals can be potential sources of rabies agent, which increases the risk of transmitting a deadly virus to humans. Rabies prevention in dogs around the world is carried out by counting the number of these animals, their mandatory routine immunization and evaluating the effectiveness of vaccination against the accumulation of rabies virus-neutralizing antibodies. Inactivated vaccines based on different viral strains formulated with a wide range of adjuvants are used to induce a protective level of humoral immunity against rabies in dogs (≥ 0.5 IU/cm3), which allows vaccines with high safety and effectiveness for the target animal species to be obtained. The article presents the results of the study of humoral immunity in 20 non-pedigree dogs 21 days after the administration of rabies inactivated vaccines based on culture rabies virus from ARRIAH strain formulated with various adjuvants. The presented rabies vaccines formulated with oil adjuvant Montanide ISA 70 VG and gel adjuvant Montanide GEL 01 were innocuous and safe and induced strong immunity in all vaccinated animals. The vaccine formulated with Montanide ISA 70 VG adjuvant in case of a single administration in the dose of 1.0 cm3 induces formation of rabies virus-neutralizing antibodies in the level of 2.4 times higher than the vaccine formulated with Montanide GEL 01 adjuvant. The highest levels of rabies antibodies in dogs were 48.1 ± 3.7 and 28.3 ± 1.5 IU/cm3 and were observed with the use of rabies inactivated emulsion vaccine in the doses of 3.0 and 1.0 cm3 respectively.

Rabies is one of the most important human and animal viral diseases, being one of the most dangerous zoonoses, causing damage to the central nervous system with an inevitable fatal outcome. This disease is of global concern, and it attracts special attention of international organizations (WHO, OIE, FAO, GARC) and of veterinary services in many countries around the world. A variety of anti-rabies vaccines have been used for specific rabies prevention in wild carnivores, however, the safety and effectiveness of some of them is doubtful. New, more advanced products are being developed, one of which is Ferarabivac, a live oral vaccine. The vaccine was tested for its immunogenicity and protectivity in wild carnivores. The optimal immunizing dose was 2.0 cm³, with the infectivity titre of RV-97 strain of at least 6.00 lg KKID50/cm³. Anti-rabies antibody titres detected in the blood sera of foxes and raccoon dogs 14 days post vaccination, were 0.70 ± 0.18 and 0.73 ± 0.19 IU/cm³, respectively, which provided protection against rabies virus infection (≥ 0.50 IU/cm³). Rabies virus neutralizing antibodies in foxes reached their maximum level of 4.30 ± 0.32 IU/cm³ 50 days post vaccination. Antibody titres in vaccinated raccoon dogs also reached their maximum level of 4.53 ± 0.27 IU/cm³ 50 days post vaccination. The minimum protective threshold levels of serum neutralizing antibodies was determined 12 months after the vaccination, and it was 0.62 ± 0.28 and 0.71 ± 0.17 IU/cm³ in foxes and raccoon dogs, respectively, which proves the necessity to perform booster vaccination one year later. No animals vaccinated against rabies with Ferarabivac live vaccine showed any clinical signs of the disease during the entire observation period following the challenge test carried out 30 days post vaccination.

Basic characteristics of African swine fever, being one of the most significant transboundary infections with a devastating potential for pig production, are presented in the paper. It occurred in Georgia for the first time in 2007 and spread among domestic pigs and wild boar in the European part of the Russian Federation. After that, ASF virus was detected in Belarus, Ukraine and since 2014, the disease has been reported in the European countries. Having spread in Europe, African swine fever became an epizooty, caused by ASFV genotype II and exhibiting a deteriorating trend. Modern ASF infected areas in the Russian Federation, Europe, China and Asia are described. Currently the disease is the most serious epidemiological problem due to huge losses (high mortality among susceptible animals); ability to occur and spread in the most unexpected parts of the world and absence of specific prevention tools and means. Russia has developed a high level of expertise in the disease prevention, control and eradication. A scientifically justified set of measures to prevent and eradicate ASF, which has proved its effectiveness in the disease control, was developed and introduced. The core of this set is formed by biosafety assurance along the whole production chain at the establishments of any type of ownership involved into breeding, keeping, slaughter, processing, storage, movement and marketing of live pigs and pig products; by wild boar population control and improvement of waste management approaches. Other ASF infected countries can benefit from the Russian Federation’s experience in ASF control by adapting it to the concrete region with due regard to local social and economic conditions.

Avian infectious bronchitis is one of the most common viral infections causing enormous economic losses in the global poultry industry. Due to the lack of mechanisms to correct errors during genome replication, the virus can quickly mutate and generate new strains. This is facilitated by widespread use of live vaccines, simultaneous circulation of field viruses belonging to different serotypes in one flock and rapid spread of the virus. Previous studies of avian infectious bronchitis virus strains and isolates identified in the Russian Federation poultry farms showed that 50% of samples tested positive for the 4-91, D274, H-120, Ma5 vaccine strains, and the other half of samples tested positive for the field viruses belonging to eight GI genetic lineages, while the G1-19 (QX) lineage was dominant. The paper presents identification and genotyping results of the avian infectious bronchitis virus in one of the poultry farms in the Saratov Oblast (the Russian Federation) in 2018–2019. The samples of internal organs and blood, as well as oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs were taken from chicks and layers of different ages in the parent and replacement flocks. The vaccine strain, GI-19 field isolates and variant isolates that do not belong to any of the known genetic lineages were detected. Analysis of test results within a two-year period showed that it is important to study samples taken from birds of different ages. The virus undergoes modification and adaptation inducing new genetic forms by infecting several poultry generations, due to which the heterogeneity of the virus population is ob­served not only in the poultry farm as a whole or in a separate department, but also within one organism. The identified isolates showed tropism for the tissues of intestine, reproductive organs, and, in rare cases, trachea and lungs. The data obtained indicate that, despite the vaccination used, a genetically diverse population of the infectious bronchitis virus circulates in the poultry farm, while the infection may not manifest itself at an early age, but may affect the flock productivity in the future due to pathological changes in the reproductive organs of laying chickens.

To date, there is a whole system of legal documents, regulating food security issues in the Russian Federation. Monitoring of food quality and safety is performed on the federal level, on the level of the Russian Federation Subjects and on the municipal level based on the developed and adopted regulatory and methodical documents. The paper presents the analysis of ASSOL information system data related to microbial contamination of animal raw materials and products, collected within the following official activities: “Laboratory Testing within Official Monitoring of Food Safety and Quality” and “Laboratory Testing of Animal Raw Materials and Products, Feed and Biological Materials for the Purposes of Food Safety and Quality Assurance”. Microbiological test data were obtained from 37 Russian laboratories, subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor, within 2015–2018. The analysis performed showed that the maximum number of tests was performed for the following pathogenic microorganisms: Salmonella bacteria (29.5% within official monitoring and 26.8% within official programme). The highest number of non-compliances within monitoring was revealed when testing for total viable count (total mesophilic anaerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms) – 14.8% and Coliforms – 8.98%; within the official programme most violations were related to yeast (18.8%), yeasts and molds (18.5%) and TVC (12.4%). The parameters, showing less than 1% of positives within official programme testing, were identified. They include Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Proteus bacteria and sulphite-reducing clostridia. The necessity in further tests for safety and quality of animal raw materials and products in the Russian Federation was justified.

Results of the ten-year annual mycotoxicological testing of complete mixed feeds for pigs and poultry submitted by holdings and processing establishments located in the Northwestern, Central, Southern, Volga and Ural Federal Districts are presented. Competitive ELISA tests showed that the occurrence of T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenon, fumonisines B, alternariol, ochratoxin A, citrinin, mycophenolic acid, ergoalkoloids and emodin was about 5% and quantities thereof varied within one or three orders; quantities of T-2 toxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenon, fumonisines, and ochratoxin A might exceed maximum admissible levels for feed grains. Diacetoxyscirpenol, aflatoxin В1, sterigmatocystin and cyclopiazonic acid belonged to group of rare contaminants. Level of feed contamination with T-2 toxin and emodin was found to be consistently high during the said period; in some of the years occurrence of deoxynivalenol, fumonisines as well as ochra­toxin A, citrinin, mycophenolic acid and ergoalkoloids increased. In 2016–2018, mixed feed contamination with alternariol increased whereas contamination with fumonizin steadily decreased and level of zearalenon occurrence remained consistently low. Evidence for a wide occurrence of emodin known as “diarrheic factor” as well as for sporadic increase in mixed feed contamination with alternariol, citrinin, mycophenolic acid, mycotoxins having the highly dangerous toxic impact and long-term adverse effects, was detected for the first time. These data confirmed the need for their inclusion into the regulated group of substances significant for public health. General features of pig and poultry feed contamination as well as usefulness of regional surveys for intoxication risk prediction are described. Special attention is paid to the importance of the projects for creation of common information resources that could become a unique scientific basis for innovations in feed poisoning prevention. Original monitoring data systematized and summarized in the paper are given in electronic format in section Additional materials.

Laboratory diagnosis is a crucial component in implementation of the set of anti-epidemic measures aimed at contagious animal disease control. The need for unswerving trust in the quality of laboratory performance is a matter of importance not only for service providers and customers, but also for inspecting organiza­tions, accreditation bodies, etc. that establish performance requirements for diagnostic laboratories. Incorrect laboratory test results can lead to a misdiagnosis and, therefore, to grave consequences. One of the forms of experimental verification of a laboratory’s performance with a view to determine the laboratory’s competence and to verify its compliance with accreditation criteria as part of inspection control of the laboratory’s activities is interlaboratory comparison. The laboratory can prove its competence at a particular time, as well as clearly demonstrate how stable the quality of its test results is by summarizing and analyzing the results of its participation in interlaboratory comparisons. The analysis of the results of the interlaboratory comparisons (programmes for detection of causative agents or antibodies to the causative agents of avian influenza, Newcastle disease, rabies, classical swine fever, African swine fever, bluetongue, lumpy skin disease) organized by the FGBI “ARRIAH” for the veterinary laboratories of the Russian Federation in 2018–2019 is presented. The results showed that most of the laboratories had passed the tests successfully. The results submitted by participants were unsatisfactory in some interlaboratory comparison programmes (rabies virus detection using fluorescent antibody technique; detection of avian influenza, classical swine fever and lumpy skin disease viruses using polymerase chain reaction). That highlights the need for those participants who failed the tests to improve their laboratory testing quality.