Analysis of factors maintaining the rabies problem in the Saratov region
Authors:   Saratov State University of Genetics, Biotechnology and Engineering N. I. Vavilova, Saratov, Russia, Padilo Larisa P. , Agaltsov Valery A. ,   Saratov State University of Genetics, Biotechnology and Engineering N. I. Vavilova, Saratov, Russia, Gusev Artur A. ,   Saratov State University of Genetics, Biotechnology and Engineering N. I. Vavilova, Saratov, Russia, Podshibyakin Dmitry V. ,   Scientific Research Institute of Technologies of Organic, Inorganic Chemistry and Biotechnology (LLC «NIITONH and BT»), Saratov, Russia, Chernykh Oleg Yu. ,   Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin, Russia; North Caucasus Zonal Veterinary Research Institute (SKZNIVI) is a branch of Federal Rostov Agrarian Scientific Center, Russia, Shevchenko Alexander N. ,   Kuban State Agrarian University named after I. T. Trubilin, Krasnodar, Russia, Belousov Vasiliy I. ,   Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology – MVA named after K. I. Skryabin MBA, Moscow, Russia, Koba Igor S. ,   Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology – MVA named after K. I. Skryabin MBA, Moscow, Russia
Published: January 2025

Until the beginning of the 2st century, the territories of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, the south of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Khakassia, Buryatia, Zabaikalsky Krai, Amur Region were either completely free of rabies in wild animals, or the intensity of the epizootic process in predator populations (among foxes, raccoon dogs and wolves) was irregular and relatively low [400]. During the first three years after the registration of the first case, all favorable habitats of the fox were involved in the epizootic, and animals sick with rabies were found at a distance of more than 1 km from the primary focus [6]. In many reservoirs, the dynamics of the virus spread can largely depend on the spatial structure, for example, caused by rivers, mountains and other landscape barriers. The aim of the study was to analyze the factors maintaining unfavorable conditions in the Saratov Region. Six abiotic environmental factors that could theoretically influence the maintenance of rabies problems were analyzed. The following were considered: road network density and distance from roads, population density in the region and distance from them, distance from forests and plantations, and the dominant type of land cover, i.e. the nature of the territory's surface formed by the influence of natural factors and human activity (land use). Analysis of factors influencing the spread of animal rabies virus and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks in the Saratov Region showed that the following factors are of the greatest significance: Distance from roads – 77,3; distance from settlements, which corresponds to a value of 17,8; population density and road density, which is 4,2 and 0,7, respectively. The highest probability of the presence of the pathogen and the highest risk of outbreaks of the disease in the Saratov region are associated with populated areas, including the territories of the agglomerations of the municipalities of the city of Saratov, the city of Engels and the city of Balakovo.