Russia has ordered the destruction of a batch of one of its most widely used dog vaccines after state regulators confirmed it contained a live virus linked to a wave of pet deaths across the country. The decision follows months of complaints from dog owners in Moscow, St Petersburg, and at least eight other regions, including Krasnodar, Yaroslavl, Leningrad, Tula, Penza, Saratov, and Belgorod.
Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's veterinary and agricultural inspection agency, said batch 20 of the Multican-8 vaccine, produced by Moscow-based Vetbiokhim, contained a live Aujeszky's disease virus. The illness, also known as pseudorabies, is typically fatal in dogs and has no specific treatment. The regulator ordered the batch—comprising 60,000 doses, according to independent outlet Meduza—withdrawn from circulation and destroyed.
The State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said it had received around 300 complaints of pet dog deaths linked to the vaccine, according to Russian outlet Baza. Vetbiokhim initially suggested that third parties may have deliberately interfered with the product, but the regulator's finding of a live pathogen and serious production violations undercuts that claim.
Regulatory response and production failures
Rosselkhoznadzor and the prosecutor's office launched inspections in August, and Vetbiokhim said it was conducting its own internal investigation. By early September, the regulator said preliminary findings pointed to serious production violations and warned that the company could face licence revocation. Four other batches of Multican vaccines had already been suspended before Wednesday's order.
The company has drawn 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 affected owners. The agreements require 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. Vetbiokhim told Russian business outlet RBC that the confidentiality clause was "standard legal practice."
The scandal has cast a shadow over Russia's pet vaccine market, where Vetbiokhim holds a dominant position. Multican-8 was the top-selling product in the country'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 range of 15 products accounts for approximately 70% of the Russian market for dog and cat vaccines.
The company's market share 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%. This shift has left Russian pet owners with fewer alternatives, making the safety of domestic products all the more critical.
Owners of cats vaccinated with the company's Multifel product have also reported deaths, according to independent outlet Govorit NeMoskva. The full extent of the outbreak remains unclear, but the regulator's confirmation of a live virus in a commercial vaccine is a serious breach of production standards.
The incident comes amid broader concerns about the reliability of Russian-made products, as sanctions and import restrictions have forced greater reliance on domestic supply chains. For pet owners across the country, the recall is a stark reminder of the risks when quality control fails.
