The paper covers the long history of the FGBI “ARRIAH” international cooperation on foot-and-mouth disease, starting from 1964 when its name was the All-Union-Foot-and-Mouth Disease Research Institute. Foot-and-mouth disease was the main focus of the Institute’s research activities. Under of the auspices of the Institute,a Coordination Board was established. It consisted of the specialists of the veterinary services, research and educational institutions from all the republics of the USSR.A common research programme aimed at the development and implementation of effective tools and methods for FMD control was worked out. The next stage of international cooperation was related to the functioning of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON). Starting from 1977, the Institute coordinated the CMEA member countries’ research activities on 11 topics of the FMD issue, held meetings on the subject, as well as meetings of the Board of Commissioners.After formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Institute developed the long-term “Programme of joint activities of the CIS member states for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease in the CIS member states” (2004). Later on, the Programme was repeatedly altered and extended to address new priorities, with the Institute undertaking the coordinating role. The “Set of joint measures of the CIS member states for the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease for the period up to 2025” has now been adopted, and the FGBI “ARRIAH” also performs the functions of the basе organization of the CIS member states for the advanced training and retraining in animal disease diagnosis and control. At present, much of the FGBI “ARRIAH” international cooperation on FMD takes place through its acting as the WOAH Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and the FAO Reference Centre for Foot-and-Mouth Disease.

Results of diagnostic tests for bovine leukosis carried out in the Dagestan Republic in 2022 (as of October 1, 2022) showing bovine leukemia virus (BLV) occurrence are presented in the paper for the whole Republic and for each municipality separately. In total, 632,454 susceptible animals were serologically tested with immunodiffusion assay; 3,573 reactor animals (0.6% of tested animals) were detected. Proportion of infected animals was as follows: 0.5% – in administrative raions, 1.6% – in urban districts and 1.1% – in distant pasture zones. Percentage of infected cattle varied from 0.01 to 4.9%. No hematological examinations for bovine leukosis were carried out because seropositive animals were timely culled. In the breeding sector, the proportion of bovine leukemia virus carriers was averagely 2.8%. Ninety-five bovine leukosis-affected localities were reported in the region as of 1 January 2022. Eighty-one new BLV-infected localities had been identified and bovine leukosis had been eliminated in 18 localities for 9 months of 2022. Totally, 158 localities were officially declared affected in 2022 (as of October 1, 2022): 36 agricultural holdings (including 5 breeding holdings), 18 small-scale farms and 104 backyard farms. The largest number of bovine leukosis-affected localities was registered in the Kizlyarsky (18), Tarumovsky (17), Babayurtovsky (16), Gunibsky (15), Tlyaratinsky (10) Raions and in the city of Makhachkala (9). One disease-affected locality was reported in each of the Bezhtinsky, Buynaksky, Derbentsky, Kazbekovsky, Kayakentsky, Kizilyurtovsky, Khasavyurtovsky Raions and towns of Khasavyurt and Yuzhno-Sukhokumsk. Two disease-affected localities were reported in each of the Rutulsky, Untsukulsky Raions, three disease-affected localities were reported in each of the Gergebilsky, Laksky, Novolaksky, Tsumadinsky Raions. Four disease-affected localities were reported in the Sergokalinsky Raion, five disease-affected localities were reported in the Charodinsky Raion, six disease-affected localities were reported in each of the Akhvakhsky, Dakhadaevsky, Karabudakhkentsky Raions, seven disease-affected localities were reported in each of the Botlikhsky, Kumtorkalinsky and Shamilsky Raions. Comparative analysis of serological and molecular genetic methods used for bovine leukosis diagnosis demonstrated the advantage of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction as compared to immunodiffusion assay used in veterinary practice.

Early mastitis diagnosis and treatment play a significant role in reducing the disease incidence in a dairy herd. Examination of the animals (n = 61) milked with VMS™ V300 automated voluntary milking system (DeLaval, Sweden) showed that mean milk yield was 15.03 kg (min – 4.50 kg, max – 24.52 kg); mean milking time in the group was 8 min 14 sec (min – 5 min 24 sec, max – 12 min 29 sec) during the observation period equal to 10,300 milkings. Milking time for the majority of the cows (67.2%) complied with the standards and equaled to 4–7 min, mean milking time for 32.7% of the animals was 8 minutes. Mean interval between milkings in the test animal group was 11 hours 30 minutes (min – 6 h 04 min, max – 18 h 54 min). Mean electrical conductivity of the milk was 4.14 1/Om.cm³ for the whole group of animals. Determined mean mastitis detection index (MDi) was 1.6 and varied in the range of 1.03 to 1.41. Minimal and maximal MDi was 1.0 and 11.1, respectively. Diagnostically representative increase in MDi within 1.8–2.2 was observed in 24.6% of animals. Significant MDi increase to more than 2.2 was found in 21.3% of high-yielding cows. All animals with MDi higher than 1.8 (28 animals) were examined for mastitis. Inflammatory reactions in udder were detected in 28.6% of the animals, clinical and latent inflammations were detected in 7.1 and 21.4% of the cows, respectively. Tests of mammary gland secretion showed that average somatic cell count was up to 200 and 201–300 ths cells/mL in 45.9 and 37.7% of the animals, respectively. Udder secretions of 4.9% of cows contained 301–400 ths somatic cells/mL. In 9.8% of tested animals average somatic count was 401–700 ths somatic cells/mL, and in 1.6% of the animals – more than 701 ths somatic cells/mL. Microbiological and PCR tests of mammary gland secretion samples taken from the animals with mastitis detected the following contagious and coliform mastitis agents: Staphylococcus spp. (St. epidermidis, St. saprophyticus, St. haemolyticus), Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium. Various diagnostic techniques are found to be used for detection of mastitis in the herd and the data generated by robotic voluntary milking station such as mastitis detection index (MDi) can be used for earlier detection of changes in cow’s mammary gland.

Over the past ten years, the small ruminant population in the Russian Federation grew sharply, especially goat population in backyards and on small-scale farms. Alongside with the population growth, clinical signs of some sporadic diseases or diseases that had not been previously registered were detected in animals. Caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) is one of such diseases. It is a chronic infectious disease caused by a small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV) of the Retroviridae family, which includes four genotypes, of which genotypes A (maedi-visna – MVV virus) and B (caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus – CAEV) are of epizootic significance. The disease is characterized by long asymptomatic viral transmission and is associated with progressive lesions in the respiratory organs, joints and udder. The disease also affects nervous system in kid goats aged between 2 and 3 months. Clinical signs of caprine arthritis-encephalitis are not pathognomonic; therefore, it is often misdiagnosed, thus, resulting in a barrier to effective treatment. Given the fact, the issue of antemortem and postmortem diagnosis of caprine arthritis-encephalitis is still urgent, because most veterinary specialists have never encountered this disease and the data available in the literature often do not fully cover all clinical details and pathomorphological features. Therefore, the purpose of the work is to study CAE clinical signs and pathomorphological changes. The article describes in detail clinical manifestation of this disease, postmortem lesions in organs and tissues of the sick animals. The results obtained suggest that the destructive changes in the exposed organs are irreversible and, consequently, there is no effective treatment.

Massive digestive disorders of neonatal calves, clinically manifested as diarrhea causing severe dehydration, toxemia, immunodeficiency and metabolic disorders, induce huge economic losses in animal husbandry. Etiopathogenetic lesions of the digestive organs are characterized by significant polymorphism, including a wide range of various (physiological, sanitary and infectious) factors. Massive gastroenteritises in neonatal calves are primarily caused by such infectious agents as viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Massive diarrheas are registered in 70–80% of newborn calves by the end of the first day of life. Diseased newborn calves die on day 5–10 and mortality ranges from 15 to 55%. Rotavirus, coronavirus, pestivirus, parvovirus, enterovirus and kobuvirus, along with bacteria, are most frequently detected in faecal samples collected from neonatal calves with diarrhea. Diagnostic and vaccine products for prevention of these infections have been developed in the Russian Federation. At the end of the 20th – the beginning of the 21st century a large number of cattle were imported to Russia from the countries affected with different contagious diseases (USA, Denmark, France, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Finland, etc.). Despite the high activity and field effectiveness of vaccines against rotavirus and coronavirus infections and viral diarrhea, massive neonatal calf diarrheas causing significant economic losses were registered in a number of large-scale livestock farms. Torovirus as well as the above-mentioned pathogens were detected in fecal samples from diseased calves. This report provides data on torovirus infection indicating a wide geographical distribution of animal torovirus in many countries of the world. All this suggests the need to take into account torovirus infection when conducting epizootological investigations in farms affected with massive gastrointestinal diseases of neonatal calves.

An investigation for causes of tuberculosis occurrence and persistence on farms, as well as of continuous presence of tuberculin reactor animals on tuberculosis-free farms impeding allergy diagnosis revealed that the major cause is the persistence of pathogenic and nontuberculous acid-fast mycobacteria in the environment. To determine the occurrence of typical and atypical mycobacteria in samples covered by epidemiological surveillance, 222 biological material samples from cattle, 248 environmental samples (manure, soil, water from different sources, feedstuffs), 44 milk samples from tuberculosis-affected farms, 20 vaginal discharge samples from endometritis-affected cows and 405 sputum samples from tuberculosis-affected humans were tested. Isolation and identification were performed in accordance with the guidelines. Thirty-nine cultures were isolated from the pathological material; of these, 7 (17.9%) were identified as Mycobacterium bovis and 32 (82.1%) were identified as atypical mycobacteria. Among nontuberculous mycobacterium cultures, 16 (50.0%) were classified as belonging to group II, 2 (6.2%) – as belonging to group III and 14 (43.8%) – as belonging to group IV according to the Runyon classification. The following species were found to be predominant: group II – Mycobacterium scrofulaceum and Mycobacterium gordonae (scotochromogenous), group IV – Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium fortuitum (rapidly growing). No mycobacteria were detected in milk samples and vaginal discharge samples from tuberculin reactor cows. From 405 sputum samples from tuberculosis-affected humans, 64 (15.8%) cultures were isolated, of which 55 (85.9%) were classified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 9 (14.1%) – as Mycobacterium bovis. Out of 248 environmental samples tested, mycobacteria were detected in 65 (26.2%) samples, of which 58 (89.2%) were atypical mycobacteria of groups II, III and IV; Mycobacterium bovis was isolated from 7 (10.8%) samples (soil and manure). The attempts to isolate Mycobacterium tuberculosis failed. The tests demonstrated the wide spread of nontuberculous acid-fast mycobacteria in the environment irrespective of the altitudinal zone. These findings constitute a basis for further monitoring of mycobacterium circulation in the environment in the Republic of Dagestan with a view of optimizing preventive measures.

In August 2022, a sudden death in backyard chickens was reported in the Moscow Oblast (urban district Chernogolovka, settlement Starki). As a result, within just a few days 45 chickens on this farm died or fell ill with the following signs – gray mucus discharge from nostrils and beak, coughing, gasping and rales. On day 1–3 after the onset of symptoms, the chicken died. The Newcastle disease virus, which is a representative of the Paramyxoviruses family, was isolated from the dead poultry. We determined the nucleotide sequences of fragments in F gene (encodes the fusion surface protein) and in NP gene (encodes the nucleocapsid protein). The motif of ₁₀₉SGGRRQKRFIG₁₁₉ proteolysis site, typical for the velogenic pathotype, was determined for the F gene, and a phylogenetic analysis was carried out to demonstrate that the isolate belonged to Subgenotype VII, Class II of the subfamily Avulavirinae. The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool revealed that they are most genetically related with isolates from Iran. It was found that the average death time of developing chicken embryos, infected with a minimum infectious dose, was 52 hours, which is typical for the velogenic pathotype. The virus caused 100% death in six-week-old chickens after oral infection and 100% death in all contact chickens, including those kept in cages at a distance, which proves the high level of pathogenicity and contagiousness of the recovered isolate and its ability to transmit both via fecal-oral and aerosols–borne routes. No death cases were reported in mice after intranasal infection with high doses.

The increasing number of rabies outbreaks is currently one of the most important challenges in both human and animal health. The epidemiological and epizootic significance of rabies is determined by its absolute lethality in case of clinical manifestations, as well as global spread, latent incubation period and lack of specific treatment. Rabies is endemic in Azerbaijan; wild carnivores, stray dogs and cats determining the natural type of rabies are considered the main source of infection in the Republic. The dynamics of rabies natural cases has seasonal variability. As a rule, the number of disease cases increases in autumn, winter and spring, which is associated with the biological characteristics of the main disease vectors and the climatic conditions in the region. The main purpose of the study was to investigate the spread of rabies in Azerbaijan in different seasons of the year. For this purpose, the statistical data were collected based on animal incidence by month and season for the last four years (2018–2021). It was found that rabies cases were most often identified in the period from March to May: in 2018 – 21 (31%) cases, in 2019 – 24 (38%) cases, in 2021 – 8 (40%) cases. The exception was 2020, when the majority of rabies cases occurred in December – February. To assess the epizootological and epidemiological risks of rabies in the country, the disease frequency rate among various animal species was studied by year. The largest number of rabies cases (54%) was shown to be detected among dogs. Cattle accounted for 38.1% of cases, 5.7% of positive samples were derived from stray dogs, 1.6% – from sheep, 0.6% – from horses. The study results have shown that animal rabies exhibits a clearly pronounced seasonal pattern in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Membersof Mycоplasmagenusare widely spreadin nature (soil, water, manure, cereals, foodproducts), andthereareonespathogenic for humans, animals andbirds. Thegroupof highlydangerousdiseases includecontagiousbovinepleuropneumonia (CBPP) causedby Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides. Risk of the disease agent introduction to Russia with imported livestock and raw materials still remains. Therefore, of topical importance is the improvement of theCBPPvaccinemanufacturingtechnology. Thestudies wereaimedat thedevelopmentof themethodof thesubmergedcultivation of thevaccineMycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides strain. This methodallowsproduction of a large amountof thebiological material andsimplification of thebiologicalproduct manufacturingtechnology. Dynamicsof themycoplasmamassaccumulation duringthesubmergedcultivation wasexamined within thestudies. Fourphases of thebacterialgrowth wereclearlydemonstrated. Insignificantdecreaseof the microbial cell concentration was reportedin the first twodaysof cultivation; days 3 and 4 were specified by the increase of the microbial mass concentration by several orders of magnitude: from 2.5 × 10⁸ to 4.5 × 10⁹ cells/volume unit, on day 5 the concentration was in equilibrium and starting from day 6 the onset of the microorganism’s death phase was reported. Similar dynamics wasdemonstratedduringcultivation in thebioreactors. Singular friedegg-shapedcoloniesor their accumulations wereobservedat the visual examination of the submerged cultivated mycoplasma. Therefore, when using submerged cultivation method and such parameters as mycoplasma seeding at a dose of 10⁵ microbial cells / volume unit; 2/3 filling volume; incubation at (37 ± 0.5) °С; agitation at 90 rpm and use of synthetic nutrient medium, the bacterium accumulatesat thetitreof 10⁹ cell/volumeunit.

Inactivation is the loss by a virus of ability to reproduce and infect susceptible animals while retaining its antigenic properties. In this paper, the effectiveness of aminoethylethanolamine when used as an FMDV inactivant is shown. The inactivation rates under selected parameters, effect of aminoethylethanolamine on virus stability during inactivation and on vaccine immunogenicity after storage at 2–8 °С were determined. The method for calculation of 50% aminoethylethanolamine inactivating concentration (IC₅₀) which enables to determine quality parameters of the virus-containing suspension, to compare the inactivating agent activities and their ability to ensure the vaccine innocuity within the given period of time is presented. It was established that IC₅₀ for purified and non-purified virus-containing suspensions was identical (0.0045%), and its safety after 12 h of inactivation was one TCID₅₀ per 10⁹–10¹¹ L of the virus containing suspension. It was also found that double increase in inactivation time increased the virucidal activity of aminoethylethanolamine by a factor of 1.8 for serotype O and 2.4 for serotype A. At the same time, the removal of cell debris had no significant effect on the inactivation process. Aminoethylethanolamine does not destroy 146S virus particles and it was confirmed by immunogenicity testing of the vaccines during storage. This means that 15% aqueous solution of aminoethylethanolamine, manufactured by Russian Company OOO “BIOKHIMRESURS” (Vladimir) complies with high quality standards. Immunogenicity test of bivalent FMD vaccine for cattle by challenging demonstrated that its potency was 10.08 protective doses per 2 cm³ of the vaccination dose.

The use of pure microbial cultures is associated with the following key challenges: storage, transportation and resuscitation after a long-term preservation. The currently used anthrax vaccines are produced using various strains of Bacillus anthracis. According to the storage passport data, anthrax strains are now stored in 30–40% glycerin solutions, which helps to preserve a sufficient number of viable cells without losses to their pathogenic properties for three years. It is obviously an urgent task to develop a long-term preservation technique for Bacillus anthracis strains. The aim of this study was to optimize a low-temperature preservation method for Bacillus anthracis strains that ensures viability and no losses to biological properties of the pathogen. Two vaccine strains of Bacillus anthracis were selected for the research: i.e. K-STI-79 and 55-VNIIVViM and two cryoprotective media (No. 1 – 15% glycerin solution with 15% glucose solution and No. 2 – 30% neutral glycerin solution in saline solution). At first biological properties of the strains were studied and the number of viable cells was calculated. Later on, the strains were placed into low-temperature preservation facilities, at the temperature of –40 and –70 °C. Six months later, the effect of three thawing cycles on viability and biological properties of the agent was tested: i.e. at room temperature (22 ± 2) °C, in a water bath at a temperature of (37 ± 1) °C and in a household refrigerator at a temperature of (6 ± 2) °C. As demonstrated, the best option is to preserve the cells at –70 °C and thaw them in a water bath at (37 ± 1) °C. Further research will be focused on duration of the low-temperature preservation that will ensure appropriate viability and biological properties of the pathogen.

Results of tests of six Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates recovered from the diseased pigs kept in animal holdings located in the Russian Federation for their biological properties (biochemical, proteomic, antigenic and pathogenic ones) are presented in the paper. Proteomic properties were determined with mass-spectrometry using Autof MS 1000 mass-spectrometer (Autobio Diagnostics Co., Ltd, China): protein profiles were plotted and the peaks characteristic for each isolate were identified. Mass-spectra of tested Actinobacillus isolates and reference Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae DSM 13472 strain were found to be in the m/z range of 2,000–12,000 Da. The following peaks (m/z) were common for all Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates and the strain: 2,541 ± 2; 4,267 ± 2; 5,085 ± 2; 6,450 ± 2; 7,207 ± 4; 9,408 ± 3; 11,820 ± 6. Therewith, the highest intensity (100%) was reported for the peak at 5,085 ± 2, that was supposed to be a specific feature of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. All isolates were confirmed to belong to Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae species and to 2, 5 and 9 serotypes by real-time polymerase chain reaction using species-specific and serotype-specific primers. Actinobacillus рleuropneumoniae isolates were tested for their pathogenic properties by experimental infection of white mice and 2.5–3 month-old piglets. All tested isolates were pathogenic for both white mice and piglets. Isolate No. 4 belonging to serotype 5 was found to be the most virulent out of tested isolates. Thus, LD₅₀ was 4.19 lg microbial cells for white mice and 5.49 lg microbial cells for piglets that was consistent to the data of other authors carried out tests of actinobaccilli isolated in the Russian Federation for their pathogenicity. The isolates were deposited to the FGBI “ARRIAH” Collection of Microorganism Strains.