Russia's top-selling dog vaccine linked to spate of pet deaths across the country

Russia has ordered a batch of one of its most widely used dog vaccines destroyed after finding a live virus in some of its samples, confirming a link to deaths reported across the country since August.

Russia's veterinary and agricultural inspection agency Rosselkhoznadzor said batch 20 of the Multican-8 vaccine, produced by Moscow-based Vetbiokhim, contained a live Aujeszky's disease virus — a usually fatal illness affecting dogs with no specific treatment.

The regulator ordered the batch withdrawn from circulation and destroyed. Batch 20 contained 60,000 doses, according to independent Russian outlet Meduza.

Dog owners in Moscow, St Petersburg and at least eight regions including Krasnodar, Yaroslavl, Leningrad, Tula, Penza, Saratov and Belgorod had reported severe adverse reactions and deaths in animals vaccinated with Multican-8.

Russia's State Duma said it had received around 300 complaints of pet dog deaths related to the vaccine, according to Russian outlet Baza.

Vetbiokhim initially cited suspected deliberate interference by third parties. The regulator's subsequent finding of a live pathogen and serious production violations does not support the claims of sabotage.

Four other batches of Multican vaccines had already been suspended before Wednesday's order.

Rosselkhoznadzor and the prosecutor's office announced inspections in August, while Vetbiokhim said it was conducting an internal investigation.

In early September, Rosselkhoznadzor said preliminary findings indicated serious production violations and warned the company could face licence revocation.

Vetbiokhim drew up compensation agreements with owners of dogs that died, offering between 200,000 and 300,000 rubles per case, according to Meduza, which cited posts in private chats used by those affected.

The agreements required recipients to waive all further claims and sign non-disclosure agreements barring them from discussing the case with media, on social media or in messaging apps without the company's consent.

The company told Russian business outlet RBC that the confidentiality clause was "standard legal practice".

Multican-8 was the top-selling product in Russia's pet vaccine segment from January to July of this year, accounting for around 20% of the market, according to Kommersant, citing data from RNC Pharma.

Vetbiokhim's products account for approximately 70% of the Russian market for dog and cat vaccines across its range of 15 products.

The company's dominance expanded sharply after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions in early 2022, which cut the share of imported veterinary medicines on the Russian market from 50% to between 10% and 15%.

Owners of cats vaccinated with the company's Multifel product have also reported deaths, according to independent outlet Govorit NeMoskva.

Multican-8 is also marketed outside Russia, including in Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan. However, there is currently no evidence that any suspicious batches have been exported abroad.