Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak expands to new regions in Russia

Russian regions continue to report mass livestock disease cases that increasingly resemble an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), one of the world’s most dangerous viral animal diseases. Following the situation in the Novosibirsk region, new restrictions and emergency veterinary measures have now been introduced in Russia’s Kemerovo region, where checkpoints were set up around the Vaganovo agricultural complex and mass cattle culling began.

Officially, Russian authorities continue to describe the situation as pasteurellosis and other infections. However, the scale of quarantine measures is raising concerns among farmers and international experts. According to local residents, thousands of dairy cattle may already have been destroyed in Kuzbass. At the same time, emergency livestock vaccination campaigns have started in private farms due to the threat of lumpy skin disease.

On May 6, a state laboratory in the Novosibirsk region officially confirmed foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. Prior to this, local authorities had repeatedly claimed that the mass culling was caused by pasteurellosis. Experts also note that pasteurellosis is generally treatable and does not usually require such severe quarantine measures.

According to international sources and USDA analysis, the number of Russian regions showing signs of dangerous animal disease outbreaks continues to grow. At the same time, the Russian Federation has still not officially informed the international community about possible FMD cases, despite being obligated as a WTO member to promptly report such outbreaks under World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) regulations.

Additional concern comes from neighboring China, where authorities confirmed an outbreak of the new SAT1 strain of foot-and-mouth disease near the Russian border in early April. Existing vaccines provide little protection against this strain. Unlike Russia, Chinese authorities immediately acknowledged the outbreak and launched large-scale anti-epidemic measures, including emergency vaccination, livestock transport restrictions, disinfection campaigns, and intensified monitoring. Several regions have already restricted animal trade and strengthened veterinary controls in an effort to prevent further spread of the dangerous virus.

Tags: Russia, live livestock