During many decades, rabies remained endemic on the territory of Ukraine. In certain historical periods, the epizootic process of rabies developed with the alternate inclusion of different species of animals as a source and a reservoir of the virus which are of great interest to many scientists. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to conduct an analysis of rabies epidemiology on the territory of Ukraine from 1950 to 2019 based on collected reliable archival data. Collected archival data have shown that over the past 70 years sources of rabies infection varied from domestic to wild carnivorous and vice versa with three major epizootic peaks. The first and the highest peak in the entire study period was recorded in 1951 (3 724 cases) and was caused by the spread of the rabies virus solely through dogs. The second peak with lower number of cases was recorded in 1979 (1 594 cases) when the dominant role in the spread of rabies virus turned to foxes. Finally, the third peak in 2007 (2 932 cases) was triggered by the combination of animals (foxes, dogs, and cats) as the source of the pathogen. Considering significant peaks and downturns and the varying degrees of involvement of domestic and wild animals in spreading of the pathogen, we have identified five historically important stages in the development of the epizootic process: the stage of «urban» or «dog» rabies (1950)(1951)(1952)(1953)(1954)(1955)(1956)(1957)(1958)(1959), relative stability (1960)(1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969), «sylvatic» or «fox» rabies , relative safety (1991-1999), and expansion (2000-2019). At the stage of «urban» rabies dogs played a significant role as a source and a reservoir of the virus. In the epizootic aspect, dogs made up 54.3 % of all rabies cases, while cats and wild animals (wolves, raccoon dogs, foxes, raccoons, martens, and lynxes) -1.58 % and only 0.05 % respectively. Domestic animals (cattle, pigs, horses, goats, etc.) made up the rest 44.07 %, but they were «victims» and did not contribute to the further spread of the virus. Moreover, in 89 % of cases dogs were a source of rabies for humans. The stage of «relative stability» was marked by decline of epizootics throughout Ukraine and decrease in the number of deaths to 140 per year. «Sylvatic» or «fox» rabies stage was characterized by the involvement in the epizootic process of a new species of animals -the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). During this stage the proportion of wild animals in the total number of cases was 33.9%, cats -17.7%, and dogs -12%. In 46.5% of cases foxes were the main source of rabies for humans, while cats and dogs in 34.2% and 11.8% of cases respectively. The stage of «relative safety» was marked by the repeated prolonged decline of epizootics and the increasing role of dogs and cats in the epizootic process. The last stage of the expansion took place against the background of the increasing population size and proportion of rabies cases among domestic carnivores (up to 44.6%) and foxes (up to 36.5%), which contributed to the widest...

Limited and judicious antimicrobial usage (AMU) is considered the key to saving the success of human and veterinary medicine in treating infections. With the limited alternatives for antimicrobials, farm biosecurity (and herd management) is considered a promising tool to mitigate the non-judicious AMU and to maintain animal health, production, and welfare. The present scoping review aims to analyse the effect of farm biosecurity on AMU in livestock systems and formulate recommendations. Peer-reviewed manuscripts published between 2001–2022 were analyzed using the PRISMA framework using PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct databases. After applying the inclusion criteria, 27 studies were found to assess the effect of farm biosecurity (or management practices) on AMU at the herd/farm level in quantitative/semi-quantitative terms. These studies were carried out in 16 countries, of which 74.1% (20/27) were from 11 European countries. The highest number of studies were from pig farms [51.8% (14/27)], followed by poultry (chicken) farms [25.9% (7/27)], cattle farms [11.1% (3/27)], and a single study from a turkey farm. Two studies include both pig and poultry farms. Most of the studies were cross-sectional [70.4% (19/27)], seven were longitudinal, and one was a case-control study. Complex interactions were observed among factors influencing AMU, such as biosecurity measures, farm characteristics, farmers’ attitudes, availability of animal health services, stewardship, etc. A positive association between farm biosecurity and reduction in AMU was observed in 51.8% (14/27) of the studies, and 18.5% (5/27) showed that improvement in farm management practices was associated with a reduction in AMU. Two studies highlighted that coaching and awareness among farmers might lead to a decrease in AMU. A single study on economic assessment concluded biosecurity practices as a cost-effective way to reduce AMU. On the other hand, five studies showed an uncertain or spurious association between farm biosecurity and AMU. We recommend the reinforcement of the concept of farm biosecurity, especially in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Further, there is a need to strengthen the evidence on the association between farm biosecurity and AMU in region- and species-specific farm settings.

The analysis of the epizootic situation with rabies for the period 1999-2018 showed that 33079 animals suffered from rabies, 19687 (59.5%) of them were domesticated animals, 13392 (40.5%) were wild. The percentage of sick animals with the highest rates of morbidity from the total number of patients is: for cats-25.3%, for dogs-19.3%, for cattle-13%, for foxes-36.7%. The disease was registered in 10 species of domestic animals and 18 species of wild ones. Among wild animals, the highest incidence was recorded among foxes-12,136 animals or 90.6%, high incidence of rabiesraccoon dogs-507 or 3.78%, martens-363 or 2.7%, wolves-158 animals, or 1.17%. The study of seasonality for this disease showed the maximum manifestation in the autumn-winter period. All regions with a high tense of epizootic situation with rabies are interconnected (mainly the eastern, northern and central regions of Ukraine). The low tenseness of the epizootic situation is observed mainly in the western regions. During the analyzed period in Ukraine, 58 people died from rabies. The number of bites animals suspected of developing rabies disease was estimated from 879 (2016) to 3983 (2007). Such a large number of bites in 2007 is logical, since the number of sick animals in this period was the highest. Antirabies assistance needed 6,373 people (2014) up to 110 202 (2003).

In recent decades, there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of rabies in cat population due to lack of proper vaccination among domestic and stray animals. In such conditions, the virus is approaching the humans due to the increase in the number of cases of attacks of these animals on humans. Therefore, our aim was to carry out a retrospective analysis of the prevalence of rabies virus in Ukraine, to study the trends of rabies virus spread among domestic carnivores in recent decades, to establish the reasons for an increase in the proportion of cats in epizootic and epidemic processes in Ukraine. Having conducted a retrospective analysis from 1950 to 2017, we found that in 1950-1954 rabies in cats in the epizootic situation constituted a small percentage -1. 58%. In 197558%. In -1979 there was an increase in the number of cases of the disease up to 17%, which occurred as a result of the epizootic outbreaks of rabies among the foxes that were most in contact with cats, especially stray, having common spatial and trophic bonds. Subsequently, trend of the development of rabies acquired a slight fluctuation, but the general trends of species distribution did not change significantly. However, in recent decades, the epizootic situation regarding this zoonosis among cats has become under constantly tension. An analysis of changes in the species structure from the total number of cats, who died of rabies in 1950 compared to 2017 showed an increase in the proportion from 1.58% to 30.5%. It is the highest percentage of cat rabies in Europe. After conducting an epidemiological analysis, we found that over the past decades, cats became the source of hydrophobia for every third patient. Our further research will be aimed at creating a database on the incidence of rabies in all species of animals in order to improve the program of rabies control among domestic carnivores and conduct a GIS-analysis on the territory of Ukraine. 1 Національний університет біоресурсів і природокористування України, м. Київ, Україна 2 Державний НДІ з лабораторної діагностики та ветеринарно-санітарної експертизи, м. Київ, Україна На початку ХХІ століття в Україні спостерігається стрімке зростання та активне поширення сказу у популяції котів, захворюваність яких становить понад 30% зареєстрованих випадків серед всіх видів тварин та складає найвищий показник серед домашніх м'ясоїдних. В таких умовах відбувається мимовільне наближення вірусу до людей та створюється загрозлива епідемічна ситуація зі сказу. Тому нашою метою було проведення дескриптивних та аналітичних досліджень сказу серед домашніх м'ясоїдних, аналізу тренду поширення та встановлення причин збільшення частки котів в епізоотичному та епідемічному процесах в Україні з 1950 по 2017 рр. Встановили, що в 1950-1954 рр. сказ котів в епізоотичній ситуації складав незначний відсотокблизько 1,58%. Починаючи з 1970 року, одночасно із включенням в епізоотичний процес червоної лисиці, показники захворюваності котів на сказ стрімко зросли до 17% та почали стабільно перевищувати відповідні...

Due to the concern for animal and human health, efforts to develop mathema cal and computa onal models for predic ng the spa al and temporal dynamics of infec ous diseases, including rabies, are constantly increasing. Therefore, our goal was to model the dynamics of the spread of rabies by foxes, dogs, and cats on the territory of Vinnytsia Oblast in the period from 2012 to 2018. To study and analyse the dynamic spread of rabies in me and space, an informa on-analy cal technology was developed, which is based on retrospec ve data from registered cases of rabies. The rabies transmission parameter was determined using official epizootological data from the regional oblast veterinary laboratory and the regional department of the State Service of Ukraine On Food Safety and Consumer Protec on. It was found that rabies spread the most among dogs and cats at a distance of up to 50 km in the winter (26.45%), from 50 to 100 km -in the autumn (40.33%), over 100 km -in the summer (49.84%). In general, domes c carnivores were sources of rabies within a radius of 50 km in only 16.98% of cases, and within a radius of 100 km -in 55.95% of cases. Foxes were sources of rabies within a radius of 50 km in only 24.33% of cases and within a radius of 100 km in 58.54% of cases. At the same me, the highest spread of rabies among the foxes at a distance of up to 50 km was observed in the spring (31.01%), from 50 to 100 km -in the winter (43.67%), and over 100 km -in the summer (48.38%). The new data will be useful in planning and carrying out preven ve anrabies measures. In the future, it is planned to conduct the modelling in terms of all regions and create forecasts for the spread of rabies on the territory of Ukraine.