[Microbial cenoses of the nasopharynx]. / Mikrobnye tsenozy nosoglotki.

The review is devoted to nasopharyngeal microflora, its significance for macroorganisms, and to relations between main representatives of nasopharyngeal microbial associations.

[The phenotypic heterogeneity of meningococcal strains by their serogroup trait]. / Fenotipicheskaia neodnorodnost' shtammov meningokokka po serogruppovomu priznaku.

It is shown that heterogeneity of meningococci of the outlined serogroups is formed due to appearance of nonagglutinable individuals in subpopulations but heterogeneity of polyagglutinable strains is characterized by incorporation not only of cross-reacting cells, but also microcommunities of each separate group which make a total feature. Serologically inactive strains either may be homogeneous or may form variants with low (to 20%) and high (to 44%) specific weight of agglutinable colonies. Strains in the centres embrace different concentrations of microcommunities which are identical by their serogroup properties to subpopulations of the meningitis pathogen.

[The types of interaction of the microflora of the human oropharynx with the causative agent of meningococcal infection]. / Tipy vzaimodeistviia mikroflory rotoglotki cheloveka s vozbuditelem meningkokkovoi infektsii.

It is shown that interrelationships between meningococci and positive symbionts can manifest themselves more often in the type of mutual or one-side regulatory reduction of intensity of the associates' growth and career they are displayed in stimulation of the development of pathogenic Neisseria populations. Representatives of three streptococci species (Streptococcus pyogenes, S. faecium and S. faecalis) are the most active antagonists in rate and strength of the suppressive effect in the simple and compound associations. The rest of the Corynebacteria and Staphylococci competitors in multicomponent associations show such properties career.

[The rapid differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis by using the lysozyme test]. / Differentsial'naia ékspress-diagnotika bakterial'nykh i virusnykh meningitov s pomoshch'iu lizotsimnogo testa.

The authors have modified the technique of the lysozyme test by adding polimixin M sulfate into the gel bacterial medium. Rapid diagnosis with the use of this test is based on different time of the appearance of the lysis areas: in bacterial meningitides the CSF lysozyme activity is detectable within 15-120 min, whereas in viral meningitides it manifests 40-50 min later or does not manifest at all. The results were found to depend on the time of the CSF collection: the earlier the CSF samples were obtained, the higher was the share of positive results.

[The role and place of serologic research in the system of epidemiologic surveillance of meningococcal infection]. / Rol' i mesto serologicheskikh issledovanii v sisteme épidemiologicheskogo nadzora za meningokokkovoi infektsiei.

The results of serological surveys, carried out with a view to the detection of capsular meningococcal polysaccharides in the passive hemagglutination (PHA) test and covering 1,289 patients with systemic meningococcal infection, 221 patients with bacteriologically confirmed meningococcal nasopharyngitis, 2,820 persons in organized groups of children and adults with different epidemiological situation (including 650 carriers) and 4,050 residents of 8 cities with different morbidity levels, were analyzed. The patients, the carriers and the members of organized groups underwent multiple surveys. As shown in this study, the confirmation of the meningococcal etiology of the systemic forms of meningococcal infection (meningitis, meningococcemia) in all cases with the exception of children under 1 year of age, as well as the determination of the groups of meningococci, could be achieved in the PHA test twice as frequently, i.e. in 60-70% of cases, as with the use of the bacteriological method. The same regularities were observed in nasopharyngitis. The conclusion was made on the possibility of using the PHA test for more exact determination of the group of meningococci, prevailing at the initial stage of diseases, this determination playing an essential role in the epidemiological surveillance. The data obtained as the result of serological surveys in organized groups may lead to conclusions on the circulation of meningococci and their group composition, thus showing the necessity of profound epidemiological study with ensuring epidemic-control measures. The selective serological study of some hundreds of donor sera is not expedient in big cities, as it provides no data on the circulation of meningococci there.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Criteria of the epidemiological surveillance of meningococcal infection]. / K voprosu o kriteriiakh épidemiologicheskogo nadzora za meningokokkovoi infektsiei.

The results of studies carried out with the use of the unified, specially developed methods in eight regions of the USSR are generalized. Basing on the analysis of the results, the leading role of serogroup A meningococci in the rise of morbidity is emphasized, the relation of the morbidity level to the serogroup composition of meningococci circulating among healthy population is revealed, the necessity of carrying out selective bacteriological surveys with a view to establish the serogroups of meningococci circulating among the population is shown. The expedient criteria to be used in the system of epidemiological surveillance of meningococcal infection are presented.

[Serologic studies of patients with meningococcal nasopharyngitis]. / Serologicheskie issledovaniia u bol'nykh meningokokkovymi nazofaringitami.

The results of the serological examination of 156 patients with bacteriologically confirmed meningococcal nasopharyngitis are presented. For control 221 patients with acute respiratory diseases and 345 healthy persons from groups having no registered cases of meningococcal infection were examined. The passive hemagglutination test with serogroup A and C polysaccharides revealed the presence of antibody titers between 1:20 and 1:640 in 67.3% of nasopharyngitis patients and antibody titers not exceeding 1:40 in 11.3-11.6% of persons in the control groups. The time course of antibody formation in nasopharyngitis was similar to that in generalized forms, but response was less pronounced: the maximum response was observed on days 5-10, and the decrease of the antibody level by day 20. In 47 foci of meningococcal infection the etiology of the disease was serologically confirmed on the first day of an epidemiologist's visit to the focus in 62.2% of 162 nasopharyngitis patients and in 36% of patients with acute respiratory diseases.

[Group-specific antibodies to meningococcus of serogroup A in different forms of meningococcal infection]. / Gruppospetsificheskie antitela k meningokokku serogruppy A pri razlichnykh formakh meningokokkovoi infektsii

The authors present analysis of the data obtained in titration in the passive hemagglutination test of the sera obtained from 2498 persons with erythrocytes sensitized with specific polysaccharide of group A meningococcus. It appeared that in children aged under one year, even in those suffering from a generalized form of meningococcus infection, antibodies almost failed to be produced, whereas in older children the mean geometrical of the titre on the 5th-14th days of the disease constituted 1:343. The mean titres in the localized forms (nasopharyngitis and carriership) constituted 1:29.5 and 1:15.1, respectively; in the case of detection in the nasopharynx of meningococcus of group A the mean titre was 1:61. One to two months after sustaining any form of the infection the antibodies disappeared almost completely. Thus, the detected antibodies served as the indices of a recent meningococcus infection, including the asymptomatic one. From 12 to 49% of the persons with antibodies to meningococcus A in titres of 1:20 and over were found in the collective bodies in which meningitis patients were present. No antibodies were revealed in the donor sera collected in the localities with complete absence of meningitis, but in the localities with the recorded meningitis morbidity the sera contained antibodies to meningococcus of group A, the percentage varying from 1.5 to 40 depending on the epidemic curve level. A conclusion was drawn that detection in the collective bodies of over 10% of the persons reacting positively in the passive hemagglutination test with polysaccharide of group A meningococcus pointed to the threatening epidemic situation, despite the seeming welfare.