Development of specific protection in susceptible carnivores against COVID-19 caused by zoonotic agent is of great importance for maintaining epidemic and veterinary favourable situation in the Russian Federation and prevention of new coronavirus infection spread in humans. Development of inactivated adsorbed whole-virion vaccine (Carnivac-Cov) against coronavirus infection (COVID-19) for carnivores intended for specific disease prevention in fur animals and pet animals (cats and dogs) and tests of the vaccine for its safety and effectiveness are described in the paper. The vaccine was developed and tested at the FGBI “ARRIAH” (Vladimir) subordinated to the Rosselkhoznadzor in accordance with the Russian Federation legislation requirements. Clinical trials were carried out on fur farms, in veterinary clinics and animal shelters. More than 330 animals (fur animals, cats, dogs) were involved in the preclinical and clinical trials. The trials have demonstrated that the vaccine is safe for target animals. Carnivac-Cov vaccine administered twice intramuscularly at the dose of 1.0 cm3 induces anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response 14 days after the second administration that lasts for at least 6 months. The vaccine transportation, storage and application do not require any specific protective equipment. The vaccine can be used on fur farms and in veterinary clinics without limitations. Carnivac-Cov is the first tool for specific COVID-19 prevention in animals. The vaccine has successfully passed comprehensive quality control and is registered in the Russian Federation.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses and they are wide spread in animals and humans. They can cause respiratory tract illnesses of various severity. The latest recently discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is an agent ofCOVID-19. The first human cases were reported in Wuhan (People’s Republic of China) in December2019. Since then, the disease infected over 153 million people and became the cause of more than 3 million deaths all over the world. Among the leaders in the confirmed cases are the USA, India, Brazil, France, Turkey and Russia. In February 2020, it was determined that some animal species, including domestic cats and dogs, can be infected with SARS-CоV-2. Reports of animal infection in zoos were submitted from the USA, Argentina, Czech Republic, Sweden, Spain, Estonia, RSA and India. Cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in fur-farmed minks were reported by 13countries. The most large-scale COVID-19 outbreak in minks that involved about 300 mink farms was reported in Denmark. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agent’s transmission from humans to canines (Canidae), felines (Felidae), mustelids (Mustelidae) and hominids (Hominidae) was confirmed. As of early May2021, the disease cases in animals were reported by 33countries. Due to COVID-19 epidemic spread and detection of animal infection cases, diagnosis tools and methods were developed in the Russian Federation, and screening tests were performed in susceptible animal populations in different regions of the country. COVID-19 monitoring results demonstrated the virus in two cats (in Moscow and Tyumen).

The novel coronavirus infection COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2, has triggered a pandemic, and has also been reported in animal populations – in farm minks, dogs and felines: domestic cats, lions and tigers. The susceptibility of some animal species to the SARS-CoV-2 has been proven by experimental infection. Serological methods are effectively used to detect the infection in animals. Currently, methods such as neutralization test, immunofluorescence assay and enzyme-linked immunoassay are used to detect antibodies to coronaviruses. Thanks to these studies, a test kit was developed based on an indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in sera of susceptible animals. The use of a purified concentrated inactivated virus as an antigen allows the detection of antibodies to various SARS-CoV-2 immunodominant proteins (S and N). The reaction conditions were optimized, and a positive-negative threshold was established by testing of 154 negative sera from animals of six species (ferrets, minks, foxes, arctic foxes, cats and dogs). The method reproducibility analysis showed that the average value of the variation coefficient did not exceed 7%, which is an acceptable value. The specificity and sensitivity of the neutralization test, when testing 30 sera from ferrets was 100 and 92.6%, respectively. The high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity shown by testing of 50 serum samples from minks, foxes, cats and dogs with different immune status, allow us to recommend the developed test kit for screening and monitoring tests and post-vaccination immunity control.

The paper contains data on registration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the European mink population. Profound and detailed studies of the virus circulation in the European mink population and the clinical manifestations of the disease, comprehensive approaches to the disease diagnosis, including epidemiological studies, clinical and post-mortem examinations, molecular genetic laboratory diagnostics (polymerase chain reaction and full-genome sequencing) contributed to better understanding of the disease features. The paper presents the data on post-mortem and histological lesions in the European minks infected with the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 obtained during the research. All the animals from which the pathological material was collected were infected with SARS-CoV-2, and the diagnosis was made using polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The obtained and presented in the paper data reveal the features and dynamics of pathological processes in the body of infected animals (European mink), demonstrate the characteristics of the lesions in organs and tissues in case of acute and chronic disease, explain the clinical and post-mortem disease pattern and indicate the causes of animal deaths. All this together will allow veterinary specialists not only to quickly and timely diagnose the disease in the population of fur animals (European mink), but also to take necessary therapeutic and preventive measures in a timely manner, to select the most effective means for symptomatic and pathogenetic therapy as well as the most rational and effective substances and disinfection procedures.

Data on FMD spread in Africa in 2017–2019 provided by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) and World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (WRLFMD) were analyzed with the emphasis on the current epidemic situation in Northern Africa, and the analysis results are demonstrated as well. Brief historical information on SAT-1, -2, -3 FMDV recovery in Africa is presented. Diagnostic test results demonstrate that the abovementioned virus serotypes are circulating in the Southern, East and West African countries. However, there are reports on detection of SAT-1 FMDV in the Near East (1961–1965 and 1970) and SAT-2 FMDV in Saudi Arabia (2000), Lebanon (2003), Bahrain, Egypt and Lebanon (2012). Infection of cattle with SAT-1, -2, -3 FMDV in Southern and East Africa is associated with the contacts between the domestic livestock and wild cloven-hoofed ungulates, specifically with African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer). FMDV persists in buffaloes for up to 4–5 years and in buffalo herds living within the limited area of the national reserves – for up to 24 years. Buffaloes are considered to be natural reservoir of the virus. The basic disease control measure in Africa is prevention of any contacts between FMD susceptible livestock and buffaloes in the national reserves and game sanctuaries. Moreover, crucial component of FMD prevention is vaccination of bovines kept in buffer zones around the wild cloven-hoofed ungulates’ habitats against the virus serotypes spread by the latter. Foot-and-mouth disease remains one of the most economically significant infections in the world and it involves losses due to the decrease of the agricultural production as well as due to the international trade restrictions.

Enzootic bovine leukosis has been an urgent problem of veterinary medicine both in the Russian Federation and abroad for more than a hundred years. A number of aspects have been studied quite deeply; however, there are still areas that require additional research. These include the development of a fully adequate laboratory model for reproducing bovine leukosis virus (BLV) infection. Preliminary studies have established that BLV infection of laboratory rats is accompanied by clinical, morphological and biochemical changes in the blood, signs of immune suppression, impaired immunological reactivity of the body, and morphofunctional changes in the immunocompetent cells that correlate with bovine leukosis. In this regard, it is of interest to analyze disorders caused by these dysfunctions; the disorders are demonstrated by changed morphometric characteristics of both the body and individual organs. The aim of the research was to study dynamic changes in body mass and mass of internal organs in laboratory rats experimentally infected with BLV. There was a clear body mass increase in BLV-infected laboratory rats, then followed by a decrease down to negative numbers. The reverse trend was observed for such internal organs of the experimental animals as liver, spleen, kidneys and lungs. At first, their relative mass decreased to some extent, then increased with different dynamics in groups. The heart was the exception, as its relative mass decreased and did not increase until the end of the experiment. The data obtained correlate with those provided by a number of authors that the relative mass of various organs changes in the BLV infected animals because of proliferative, inflammatory, dystrophic and atrophic processes.

Feline viral leukemia is an infectious disease that is common throughout the world. Despite the statistical records that have been successfully kept in other countries for many years, there is little data on the prevalence of the infection in the Russian Federation, and the samples are represented by a small number of animals. 11,807 blood samples collected in Moscow and the Moscow Oblast were tested for FeLV antigen and antibodies against FeLV by polymerase chain reaction, enzyme immunoassay, and immunochromatographic assay. The prevalence of feline viral leukemia was 12.8%, which correlates with the prevalence of the disease detected in developing countries, and speaks of a high disease prevalence in domestic cats in Moscow and the Moscow Oblast. Most often, feline leukemia virus was detected in free roaming domestic cats. During the diagnostic studies, the following hematological abnormalities were found: anemia, thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, and a shift of the leukocyte formula to the left. Biochemical blood tests showed the increased levels of total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and C-reactive protein. The obtained data demonstrate non-specific hematological and biochemical abnormalities in infected cats, and dictate the need for further study of the risk factors that predispose cats to the infection with this viral disease. Feline viral leukemia should be suspected in case of a non-specific clinical picture, as well as in case of abnormalities in blood biochemical and hematological parameters of free roaming cats or of those which have had a confirmed contact with their conspecifics.

At the end of 2020, a large-scale bird death was registered at one of the poultry farms in the Astrakhan region, the cause of which was avian influenza. Data on detection of the marker substitutions in viral proteins of avian influenza virus A/chicken/Astrakhan/2171-1/2020 isolate are presented in the paper. Type A Н5N8 avian influenza virus was identified with complex PCR-based methods in the submitted samples. Hemagglutinin gene fragment sequencing identified REKRRKR/ GLF, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus isolate-characteristic amino acid sequence of the hemagglutinin cleavage site. Phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences of hemagglutinin gene segment (848–1105 bp ORF) allowed A/chicken/Astrakhan/2171-1/2020 H5N8 isolate to be classified to highly pathogenic avian influenza virus genetic clade 2.3.4.4. Comparative analysis of genome segments using available databases showed that A/chicken/Astrakhan/2171-1/2020 H5N8 virus related to А/Н5 avian influenza virus isolates detected in the Russian Federation in 2016–2020. Analysis of the studied virus isolate hemagglutinin amino acid identified AIV-characteristic G₂₂₅QRG₂₂₈ amino acids in the receptor-binding domain of the protein enabling high-affinity binding to avian epithelial cell SAα-2,3- gal receptors. Single mutations, 70G in NEP protein and 13Р in PB1 protein, out of the list of the reported influenza virus mutations affecting successful influenza virus replication in mammals were identified. No mutations affecting virus sensitivity to anti-viral medicines, rimantadin, amantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir, were detected. The following mutations recognized as pathogenicity determinants in mice were found: 42S in the NS1 protein and 30D protein 215A in M1 protein.

The study was aimed at examination of age-related morphology of spleen and bursa of Fabricius of Pekin ducks with a dietary selenium deficiency and its correction with an organic selenium additive. The experimental study was carried out in 85 day-old ducks divided into two groups, control group and test group, 40 ducks per group, the experiment lasted for 120 days. Control group was fed with standard mixed feed for meat-type poultry. The test group of ducks was fed with the feed supplemented with DAFS-25k organic selenium additive, 1.3 mg/kg of feed, that fully compensated selenium deficiency. The study showed that the dynamics of absolute body weights and relative weight gains in control and test groups correlated to the general biological pattern – increase in absolute parameters and decrease in relative parameters were dependent on age. Therewith, maximum relative weight gain intensity was reported at the age of 15 days and maximum increase in relative spleen and bursa of Fabricius weights was reported in at the age of 30 days. Weight gain parameter drastically decreased on day 75 and remained low up to the age of 120 days. Changes in the relative spleen and bursa of Fabricius weights were non-linear throughout the study. Therewith, in ducks of all ages tested spleen parameters remained approximately at the same level but bursa of Fabricius parameters changed – relative weight of bursa of Fabricius decreased by the age of 45 days and then increased again by the age of 75 days. Relative weight gains and relative spleen weights of ducklings in test group were higher than that ones of ducklings in control group during the examined ontogenesis periods. The opposite pattern was observed for bursa of Fabricius: the above-mentioned parameters in test group were lower than that ones in control group. It was concluded that organic selenium additive had a positive effect on development of the immune system organs and reduced the stress factor impact on duckling organism.

The spread of the bovine leukemia virus impedes the development of livestock production and causes considerable losses. Despite the measures implemented, the problem of bovine leukosis eradication remains relevant in different regions of Russia. The article presents data on distribution of enzootic bovine leukosis in the Republic of Dagestan. Over the past five years, the lowest level (1.02%) of leukemia virus infection in cattle in the Republic was recorded in 2020. Laboratory tests for bovine leukosis were carried out in 41 raions and 7 municipal districts: no disease was diagnosed in 12 raions and 4 municipal districts, and the animal seropositivity index in the rest of areas was less than 1%. A high level of animal infection with the leukemia virus was recorded in the following raions: Dakhadaevsky (10.3%), Shamilsky (7.9%), Tarumovsky (3.1%), Kizlyarsky (2.3%), Babayurtovsky (2.2%), as well as in the town of Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk (3.8%). In other districts, the parameter’s values ranged from 1 to 2%. In total, 524,930 animal sera samples were serologically tested using the immunodiffusion method, out of which 5,362 samples were seropositive in 2020. 1,265 sera samples from animals infected with the leukemia virus were tested using the hematological method, 251 animals (19.8%) with persistent leukocytosis were identified, which is the average for the past years. Comparative analysis of the morbidity rate for bovine leukemia virus in farms of different categories showed that in public farms of the republic the percentage of infection level was higher (3.3%) than in the individual sector (0.7%). Thus, bovine leukemia infection level in the republic tends to decrease. Nevertheless, the infection and morbidity rates in cattle remain high in some raions and municipal districts, in particular, in the public sector.

Anthrax remains a global problem, both for veterinary and human medicine, due to the wide spread of its soil foci throughout the world. The ability to sporulate is the main feature of Bacillus anthracis, which allows the pathogen to persist in the environment for a long time. Understanding the ecology of B. anthracis is essential for successful control of this infection. This review analyzes the data from the global literature, reflecting the modern understanding of the vital functions of the anthrax agent in various ecological niches. As a result of the work, it was revealed that many links in the chain of B. anthracis lifecycle in the abiotic environment remain poorly understood. A more in-depth study is required for issues related to the mechanisms, ways of living and evolution of the anthrax causative agent outside the animal body. A separate section of the review describes the problems of anthrax foci in soil. It is shown that today there are no effective and environmentally friendly methods and means of their elimination. In addition, the question of the expediency of their use remains open. According to some researchers, the increasingly emerging initiatives for the elimination or conservation of anthrax burial sites are not only useless, but also harmful, since they exclude the possibility of further predicting the risks associated with soil foci that surround livestock burial sites and cannot be decontaminated. The study and new approaches to solution of the highlighted issues will make a significant contribution to solving the global problem of protecting animals and people from this infection.

The due performance by the veterinary service of its assigned functions depends largely on the amount of funding provided for different aspects and types of its activities. The paper presents analysis results for 13 main funded activities of veterinary services in 85 Subjects of the Russian Federation in 2019. All the funded activities were reviewed in relation to three funding sources: the federal budget, the budget of a Russian Federation Subject and extrabudgetary sources. The paper examines funding levels of the Russian Federation Subjects’ veterinary services (against actual funding requirements) with respect to each object of expenditure and each funding source; besides, the share of each funding source in overall funding of the veterinary service of the country on the whole and of certain types of its activities was determined. In 2019, overall funding of the veterinary service of the country amounted to about 49.5 billion rubles which made up 96% of funding requirements for this period. The major sources of funding were the budgets of the Russian Federation Subjects (56.3%) and veterinary services’ own extrabudgetary resources (43.2%). Only 0.5% of all the funds received by the state veterinary service of the Russian Federation were allocated from the federal budget. The following 4 out of 13 analyzed aspects of activities of the Subjects’ veterinary services were fully funded: staff salaries, anti-epidemic activities, the purchase of reagents and test systems, the implementation of monitoring and screening programmes at the Subject level for contagious animal disease control. The funding levels for other activities of the country’s veterinary service were from 9% (accreditation of veterinary laboratories and maintenance of accreditation) to 87% (the implementation of regional monitoring of food product, raw material, animal product quality and safety; animal health awareness-raising and information activities).

Today, one of the most common non-communicable diseases, which, according the World Health Organization experts, dominates the structure of human morbidity and mortality is osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of water from the hot springs of the Afyonkarahisar region on the calcium content and the levels of certain hormones in the blood of rats with experimentally induced osteoporosis. 25 female albino rats of the same age were used in the experiment. Ovaries were removed from all animals under anesthesia with ketamine (200 mg/kg) and xylazine (10 mg/kg), after which they were divided into two groups: control (10 animals) and experimental (15 animals). The animals of the control group were given tap water twice a day through an orogastric tube and they were bathed in it for 15 minutes at the same time, the water temperature was (35 ± 2) °C. The animals of the experimental group were given fresh water from the Süreyya I hot spring using the same method. Blood clinical, hematological and biochemical parameters were measured prior to the study, as well as on day 1, 7, 14, and 21 after the ovariectomy operation. The ovariectomy demonstrated inconsistence of the tested blood parameters with the standard ones. In the course of the treatment, by day 21 of the experiment, the parameters normalized, and the most noticeable changes were observed in the rats of the experimental group (p < 0.05). The results of the work performed showed that Süreyya I hot spring water contributed to a significant improvement in the clinical, hematological and biochemical blood parameters in rats with osteoporosis, therefore, it can be used for prevention and treatment of this disease in combination with other types of treatment.