In 2020, the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of the NAAS (IVM NAAS) became a winner of the competition “Science for the safety of human and society” funding by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU) with the project “Study of possible role of animals to be a host of SARS-CoV-2”, registration number 2020.01/0121.
The project goal was to investigate the possibility of pets (cats, dogs) and productive animals (cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits) to be a reservoir/source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Within the project’s framework we have purchased a modern system “Ion Torrent S5”, Thermo Fisher Scientific (USA) for SARS-CoV-2 virus whole genome sequencing to determine the characteristics of target genes and analyze the genetic variability of this pathogen.
A feature of the device is the improved capacity – from 5 to 100 million read operations per initialization (up to 60 samples simultaneously). It also allows to conduct simultaneous research of bacterial and viral genomes. The main advantages of this technology are low cost and fast sequencing processing – 2.5-4 hours. Institute staff is trained to work with this equipment.
The device can be used for conducting researches to identify mutations of viral and bacterial pathogens, so for private requests to identify cancer markers and specific genetic diseases of mammals and humans.

On November 19, 2021, the director of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of NAAS, Professor Serhiy NYCHYK, met with the head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (SSUFSCP) Vladyslava MAGALETSKA to sign a Memorandum of Collaboration in the field of food safety and animal health risk assessment.

The Deputy Head of the SSUFSCP, Head and Chief Specialist of the Risk Assessment Department, Rectors and representatives of specialized scientific institutions, as well as the head and experts of the EU project “Improvement of legislation, control and awareness in animal health and welfare in Ukraine” are also attended the meeting.

The goal of Collaboration is raising awareness and common interests in the development of a scientifically sound basis for decision making in the field of veterinary medicine, food and feed safety, and the implementation of appropriate sanitary measures.