In the first half of the 19th century. Due to increased predatory fishing, medicinal leeches have practically disappeared from water bodies. As a result, artificial breeding of medicinal worms - leech breeding - became widespread.

Leeches were bred both in artisanal conditions and on an industrial scale. Entire farms for breeding worms were created, which were in great demand in hospitals and clinics, as well as in educational institutions with medical and zoological departments and faculties. At that time, leeches were bred in ordinary open-air ponds.

Currently, medical worms are bred in special laboratory farms that have artificial reservoirs (concrete pools with stepped walls or ponds) that imitate the natural habitat of the worms.

The main requirement for water containing leeches is its purity.

Reservoirs should be well lit by the sun; piles of stones are laid out at their bottom, which leeches use as houses.

They feed medical leeches large clots of fresh blood, which is purchased at slaughterhouses. In this case, the blood of only healthy animals (mainly large and small cattle, as well as pigs) is collected.

After the leeches reach a certain weight (1.5-2 g), they are no longer fed in order to make them suitable for medical procedures. Some individuals are used for reproduction.

Artificially grown leeches develop much faster than those found in natural conditions, and are in no way inferior to them in terms of quality indicators. In ordinary reservoirs, leeches grow to a “medicinal” state only 3 years after they emerge from the cocoon. In commercial farms this period is reduced to 1 - 1.5 years. In the 1920s The world's first bdellological laboratory was created in Russia. As a result of numerous studies, a system of rules for breeding, keeping, storing and transporting leeches was developed.

Leeches that have reached the reproductive state and the required size are called queens.

After the mating season, which lasts for about 1 month, the leeches are placed in queen cells. The queen cell is a terrarium container in which natural conditions are simulated, combining the presence of land and water. The bottom of the queen cell is lined with moist peat soil, on which moss turf is laid to help regulate its moisture. Leeches first dig a shallow hole in the soil that is on land and lay a cocoon with eggs in it. After some time, the cocoons are transferred from the queen cells to the water. From the eggs, filaments of small young leeches subsequently develop, the length of which is only 7-8 mm, and the weight is about 0.03 g. The filaments, like adult individuals, are fed with fresh animal blood.

In the cold season, worms are transferred to winter storage in cool rooms. To do this, they are placed in containers containing a moistened mixture of peat and soil.

The top of the container with leeches is covered with a clean cloth and tied.

During this period, leeches burrow into the ground and fall into torpor until spring. If necessary, they are removed from the container and placed in a warm environment, after which the worms are quickly activated and become suitable for use in medical procedures.

To keep leeches, use only clean containers that have been thoroughly washed beforehand. During the storage of leeches, the water in the container must be changed periodically. In this case, the leeches are not removed. During the process of changing the water and cleaning the container, you should also carefully wash the leeches, as they are susceptible to molting. If this is not done, then the old shell (cuticle) can over time tighten the leech and lead to disruption of its blood circulation.

In addition, the inner surface of the container should be cleaned of mucus secreted by leeches. Water with leeches floating in it can be carefully poured into another vessel. The main container must be rinsed and filled with clean water. After this, the leeches are carefully returned to their place. At the end of the procedure, the container is covered with cloth and tied tightly.

With a conservation approach, the main condition for preservation is healing properties leeches are high-quality water, preferably from a natural reservoir. Boiled or distilled water cannot be used. Tap water, before placing leeches in it, should first be allowed to settle and then passed through special purifying filters.

Another important condition for proper conservation storage is maintaining the required temperature and lighting of the environment in which the leeches are placed. The optimal temperature is room temperature. Lack of heat, as well as its excess, negatively affect the condition of leeches.

Since leeches are amphibians and often crawl out of the water, clean air is of great importance for their maintenance. Therefore, perfume odors are not allowed in the rooms where they are located, medical supplies, tobacco, chemical mixtures, etc. It is necessary to regularly ventilate their storage areas.

Lighting should be sufficient, but not direct sunlight or artificial.

All institutions involved in the production and storage of leeches practice their daily inspection. If unhealthy individuals are detected, appropriate measures are immediately taken to prevent the spread of the disease. Sick and dead leeches are removed from the container in which they were stored, and the container itself is sanitized. When processing, you cannot use chemical disinfectants, since impurities in the water (even in a very small concentration) can negatively affect the condition of the leeches. Therefore, they are mainly used hot water and heat treatment.

Sick individuals in research institutions are used to develop methods for treating leech diseases, of which many have been discovered to date.

It is believed that there is little competition in this business in Russia. No more than five farms are officially registered, which are engaged in breeding leeches and cover no more than 40% of the demand. But this, at first glance, attractive situation is due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to formalize this business. These worms are recognized as a medicinal product, and therefore a license from Roszdravnadzor is required to breed them. It is not so easy to obtain, so most farmers work outside the scope of the law. According to some reports, they illegally produce up to 8 million leeches per year. At the same time, breeding such animals requires special knowledge in the field of their cultivation.

License and registration

So, breeding leeches is equated to the production of medicines, therefore a license is required for this activity, and the worms themselves must be certified. To do this, the appropriate applications must be submitted to Roszdravnadzor and the farm for growing leeches must be certified.

In addition, you need to register as legal entity, or as an individual entrepreneur.

Why business is attractive

Nevertheless, the business is quite attractive. And all because these worms are used in the treatment of a number of diseases:

• endocrine system;
• gynecological diseases;
• joint diseases;
• digestive system;
• respiratory organs.

There is a separate branch of medicine that specializes in the use of leeches - hirudotherapy. In addition, they are used in the manufacture of some cosmetics and medicines. Therefore, the demand for such a product is very high.

A leech is such a water creature ringworm, which feeds on blood, sticking to the body. During this process, it releases various substances and enzymes, which, when entering the human body, have a healing effect. In total, there are at least 500 species of leeches, but only medical ones are used for breeding, which are grown only under artificial conditions. It is believed that wild species are capable of introducing various infections.

What do you need for business?

How to organize a business depends on how large it will be. It is recommended to organize the breeding of leeches from 500 individuals in one brood. Anything less will be unprofitable. They can be bred in three-liter jars and aquariums. But if you plan to grow over a million leeches, you need to equip a concrete pool of 1 thousand square meters. m. Its depth should be at least 80 cm, and the bottom should be strewn with stones - there the worms will build their nests.

When growing at home, it is necessary to provide separate containers for each stage of development of creatures: cocoon maturation, fry growth, adult worm. The pool can be divided into special zones.

In any case, you need to monitor the condition of the water in which the worms live and the microclimate of the room where the containers are located. They must meet the following basic conditions:

• Air humidity should not fall below 80%.
• Its temperature should be kept within 25-27ºС.
• The temperature of the water where the leeches live should be the same.
• Water should always be clean, changed on time, well filtered and saturated with air.

Leeches are very sensitive to changes in microclimate, so if these conditions are not adhered to, the business may come to naught due to the loss of goods. In addition, all work on transplanting individuals and catching them is carried out exclusively by hand, even on the largest farms.

Equipment and other expenses

In addition to the containers in which your charges will be kept, you need to purchase a special water purification system. Installation for a swimming pool costs approximately 2.5 million rubles. Another million should be allocated for a ventilation system for water. The furniture and utensils needed for the farm will cost another 3 thousand.

And perhaps one of the most important points is feeding the leeches. They feed only on blood. Therefore, it is necessary to conclude agreements with livestock farms for the supply of these raw materials. Usually bovine blood is used for feeding. But it is extremely important that she is healthy and not infected. The quality of the grown leech depends on this. If you have a small farm, then usually there are no problems with feed. But with large-scale cultivation, you have to look for several suppliers.

Transportation conditions

To deliver leeches to their destination, special conditions are also needed. To do this, take three-liter jars, sterilize them and fill two-thirds with water in which the leeches lived. After the goods are placed in the jars, they are covered on top with gauze, also sterile. The jars are kept in a room where sunlight does not penetrate, but at the same time it must maintain dim lighting and the desired temperature.

Staff

This business will require the involvement of a specialist. There is such a profession as a leech breeder. He must thoroughly know the entire process of leech growth, when to place individuals, how to feed and care for them. A prerequisite is that he must have a medical education.

Where to buy worms

Many underground workers solve this issue simply by catching adult individuals from natural bodies of water. But it is believed that they are completely unsuitable for medical purposes. Therefore, you need to purchase them from special farms, where upon purchase you will be given the appropriate documents for the worms. This is extremely important if your business is legal.

Sales channels

Based on where the leech is used, you can look for appropriate distribution channels. These could be:

• Beginner leech farmers who need a starting purchase of individuals.
• Private medical specialists who specialize in hirudotherapy.
• Pharmacies.
• Medical centers that offer hirudotherapy services.
• Deliveries to other countries.

If we talk about Russia, the cost of one leech ranges from 30 to 40 rubles, while when selling it abroad you can earn up to 400 rubles. From the sale of 500 thousand leeches you can earn about a million dollars. In general, at the start, a legal business will require an investment of 15-20 million rubles, but it will pay off within five years.

Breeding medicinal leeches will require registration IP(code OKVED 01.49.9– “Breeding of other animals not included in other groups”).

Leech is equivalent to medicinal product , therefore it is necessary to obtain a cultivation license from Roszdravnadzor. Your “pets” and the premises for keeping them must undergo sanitary control.

Leech breeding technology

Under artificial conditions they are kept in aquariums or ordinary three-liter jars with purified water. The container must be covered from above so that the “tenants” do not escape.

You will need a room with several rooms or sectors (total area - from 30-35 square meters) and shelves for aquariums and jars.

You can set up such a farm at home. It is important to ensure that at all stages of growth and development the creatures are kept separately from younger or older individuals. For example, fry are placed with fry, and adults live together.

Purchase of livestock

Catch “wild” leeches for cultivation yourself not recommended , in addition, problems with documents may arise.

The medical method involves complete artificial maintenance. You need a leech farm where you can buy individuals with documents confirming the possibility of using them in cosmetology and medicine.

For beginners, it is enough to purchase 500 pieces. The purchase will cost approximately $270.

Conditions for keeping leeches

These are not very demanding creatures, but if the liquid becomes contaminated or one gets sick, the entire population can die. Therefore, it is better to keep them in small groups: 20-40 in one container.

Climatic conditions

The main condition is clean water . You will need to purchase at least good household filters to clean it. The reservoir is filled halfway with liquid.

It is necessary to change the water every day and at the same time clean the container from accumulated mucus. Make sure there are no impurities in the liquid (for example, chlorine).

Other conditions for keeping leeches

• Temperature – +25-27 degrees;
• Air humidity – from 80%.

Feeding leeches

To raise these animals, you should arrange in advance for a regular supply of certified bovine blood. Usually it is bought at meat processing plants. Blood is needed only from healthy livestock.

The appearance of foam signals their saturation. The pets are then washed and placed back into the jars.

Feeding is carried out once every month and a half. Before sale, each individual must fast for at least three months, only then is it used for its intended purpose.

For a breeding population of 500 individuals, approximately 6 tons of blood will be needed and $1600-1800 for food for two months.

How to breed leeches

To mate, they are seated in pairs and left alone for a month (mating season).

Well-fed animals mate better, so reproduction should begin after feeding.

To lay eggs they need a queen cell terrarium. After 25-30 days, the mated individuals are transplanted into it and left until the cocoons are laid.

The queen cell needs an imitation of the natural habitat: a combination of water and land. The bottom of the queen cell is covered with moist peat soil with moss turf. Animals dig tunnels in the soil and lay a cocoon with eggs.

From the eggs emerge filaments weighing only 0.03-0.04 grams. They live and grow separately from adults. Young animals are also fed fresh blood from large and medium-sized cattle.

10-30 filaments appear from one cocoon. So, 500 heads will bring approximately 10,000 new individuals in a month and a half.

Equipment for breeding leeches

Growing leeches will require purchasing:

1. Multi-tiered racks (9-10) – $380-400;
2. Feeding and washing tables (2 pcs.) – $90;
3. Terrariums (10-15) and three-liter jars (200-250 pcs.) – $150;
4. Water purification filter – $200.

Investments in equipment are around $800-900.

Costs and profits

To open a small leech farm you will need an investment of 1300-1500 $ (documents, equipment, purchase of livestock, arrangement of premises and ventilation/air conditioning).

It is difficult to cope with the daily care of “pets” on your own, so you will need to hire an employee. In addition to his salary, the list of monthly expenses includes food and public utilities(mainly water supply). Only 1300 $.

In the CIS, the average market price of a leech is $0.5. They can be sold abroad for $1.5 per piece. In the future, it is worth thinking about expanding the business and setting up supplies abroad. By selling 6-7 thousand individuals per month in the CIS, you receive from $1,700 in net income.

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Leech is your home doctor. Hirudotherapy for different types people Larisa Leonidovna Gerashchenko

Secrets of breeding medicinal leeches in artificial conditions

As you already know, inquisitive readers, leeches that were bred in artificially created conditions were not always treated. Simply because the technology for breeding leeches in such conditions, popular today, was developed only half a century ago. The authors of this method considered their main task to create conditions under which leeches would regularly reproduce, develop much faster and become suitable for treating patients earlier. This method was described in 1955 in the book by G.G. Shchegolev and M.S. Fedorova “Medical leech and its use”:

“Large, well-fed leeches, the so-called queens, are placed in pairs in small jars with water. The mating period lasts about a month. After mating, the queens are transplanted into glass vessels filled with peat, where they lay cocoons. During this period, the room is maintained high temperature. By the time the cocoons mature, they are placed in water, where the young hatch. At certain intervals, leeches are fed clots of coagulated blood obtained from meat processing plants. When, after a series of feedings, they reach a sufficient size, they are left for some time without food in order to make them suitable for medicinal purposes. In the intervals between feeding leeches located in glass jars, rinse thoroughly with water. As a result of all these operations, the period of their cultivation is reduced to a year.”

The question of whether medicinal leeches grown by this method are inferior to those caught in natural bodies of water is controversial. It is hardly worth objectively comparing a medicinal leech, which is grown under artificial conditions, with a “wild” one, because the purposes of their use are different. For treatment, as you already know, you need to use only a leech that is grown under artificial conditions.

Artificial breeding of medicinal leeches has its undoubted advantages: it significantly reduces the catch of wild leeches, guarantees the “purity” of the leech, that is, the absence of various infections in it. A certified medical “natural healer” protects the patient from AIDS, as well as from hepatitis, which could have infected the animals that became the last meal for this leech. It is impossible to subject every medicinal leech caught in natural bodies of water to biochemical analysis in order to identify infectious diseases, of which it can be a carrier.

In the 21st century, interest in medicinal leeches on the part of biologists, doctors, cosmetologists, pharmacologists, hirudotherapists and businessmen is growing every year. Scientists argue about which of the technologies for breeding leeches in artificial conditions is better - “canning” or the so-called “closed cycle technology”. They are researching where and how best to keep and breed leeches. These questions are relevant because the medicinal leech is an endangered species. In 1984, this species was listed in the Red Book, and by decision of the International Committee for the Protection of Species, since 1997, a ban on catching these animals from natural bodies of water for the purpose of mass sale has been introduced.

The largest modern center for artificial breeding of leeches today is the International Leech Center, which is located in the village of Udelnaya, Moscow region. The work of the center is described in detail in the book by G.I. Nikonov “Medical leech. Basics of hirudotherapy", which was published in 1998.

Employees of the research laboratory of this center are intensively working to improve and develop technological process. The production premises where they produce, contain and store finished products - medicinal leeches - today occupy 2200 square meters. m. Production is certified according to GMP standards. In addition to specialized production facilities that are specifically designed for growing leeches, the Leech Center also has a research laboratory and a workshop for the primary processing of medicinal leeches to create cosmetics, and an experimental workshop for keeping queen leeches during the period between laying cocoons.

All production at the International Center for Medical Leeches is equipped with the latest science and technology. The research laboratory has everything necessary to solve the issues of modernizing the technology of growing leeches in artificial conditions; its employees study biologically active substances, produced by medicinal leeches, create medicinal and cosmetic preparations based on them, and popularize hirudotherapy methods. The workshop for the primary processing of medicinal leeches is equipped with freezing units, freeze drying, homogenizers and other modern equipment. There are also technical workshops for water supply, packaging, transport and other production services in the center. The “finished product” is monitored by an accredited laboratory of the quality control department.

In addition to the International Medical Leech Center, there are also other factories that breed medicinal leeches. For example, the English factory Biopharm and the French company Recarimpex.

Reproduction of leeches occurs as follows: after a period of copulation, which lasts about 15-18 hours, the leech bears the fetus for 30-40 days. After this, she lays eggs covered with a thick layer of mucus, which, hardening in the air, turns the egg into a kind of cocoon, similar to the cocoons of silkworms. This cocoon inside is filled with water, which contains from 15 to 30 eggs. The animal buries these cocoons near the water in the coastal soil or between stones.

After 40 days if available favorable conditions Young leeches emerge from the eggs and crawl into the light, making a small hole in the cone of the egg. They can hardly be seen with the naked eye, they are so small in size, but already at this time they show remarkable greed for food.

Young leeches only after a few months change their color to normal, but for now they are white. But even after changing color, they are still different from adult animals. Average duration The lifespan of leeches is 8-12 years, their growth continues for 8 years, and for the first 2 years the cubs grow very slowly. Only leeches that are at least 3-4 years old are suitable for medical purposes.

Materials used:
E. Konstantinova, “Treatment of skin defects”