Anthrax on the Territory of New Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation: Risk Assessment

The aim of the work was to study the epizootiological and epidemiological situation on anthrax in new entities of Russia – the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions – with a multifactorial analysis of the risks of its complications. Materials and methods . Accounting and reporting materials of the Rospotrebnadzor Administrations for new entities, catalogues of stationary hazardous areas (SHA) and anthrax burials (AB) were used for the analysis. When assessing the risks of complications of anthrax situation in the administrative-territorial units (ATU) of these regions, ATU ranking method based on calculation of rank sums of SHA indicators was applied. Results and discussion . 1298 SHA and 848 AB were updated in four regions: in the Donetsk People’s Republic – 257 SHA / 38 AB, Lugansk People’s Republic – 469/258, Zaporozhe Region – 291/370, Kherson Region – 281/182. The SHA’s activity was noted in 1914–2012 (2820 outbreaks) with at least 3400 animal cases. The maximum activity of SHA was recorded in 1940–1959 with the detection of 70 % of all outbreaks. During the ranking of entities, high risk of complications of the anthrax situation was determined in 42 ATU in four regions, very high risk – in 7 ATU in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The current situation on anthrax in new territories is considered relatively favorable due to the presence of the risk factors of its complication – climatic, social, etc. The ranking results will ensure the improvement of anthrax surveillance with the introduction of enhanced control over the implementation of preventive measures in high risk areas.