[The epidemiology and epizootiology of rabies on the territory of the former USSR]. / Epidemiologiia i épizootologiia beshchenstva na territorii byvshego SSSR.

On the territory of the former USSR rabies is as infection with natural foci in the western and central regions. In the republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia, in the North Caucasus the presence of natural foci of infection is combined with appearance of the foci of rabies, mainly among dogs, due to human activities. The existence of natural epizootic cycles of three years has been established, and the natural foci of rabies have been found to prevail in certain landscape zones: steppes, forest-steppes, tundra, forest tundra. A vast zone of northern taiga remained free from this disease. About half a million persons asked for medical assistance in connection with rabies annually, and about 50% of them received urgent antirabies treatment. Of the total number of persons asking for antirabies assistance, the proportion of rural dwellers was about 30%, while the majority of rabies patients were from rural areas (about 70%). During the period under study the incidence of this disease among humans did not show any tendency towards a decrease and constituted 0.01-0.02 cases per 1,000 persons. Of the total number of persons contacting this disease, only 30% went to a clinic for medical assistance.

[Postinfection and postvaccinal antianthrax immunity in human subjects]. / Postinfektsionnyi i postvaktsinal'nyi protivosibireiazvennyi immunitet u liudei.

Antibodies to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) and to the lethal factor (LF) of B. anthracis exotoxin in the blood sera of anthrax patients and of subjects with a history of the disease, as well as of persons immunized with STI live vaccine, were studied by the heterogeneous enzyme immunoassay. In 1-6 years after convalescence the levels of anti-PA and anti-LF antibodies (at 75% and 96% detection rates respectively) were higher than on weeks 1-4 from the onset of the disease. In persons having had anthrax antibodies belonged mainly to IgG, and the anti-LF antibody level was higher than the anti-PA antibody level. In persons immunized with STI vaccine the detection rate of antibodies somewhat increased in 2-7 months after immunization, reaching, on the average, 72%, the antibody levels after primary immunization and regular annual booster immunization being similar. In 1-2 years after primary (booster) immunization the isolation rate of antibodies decreases to 21%. Specific features of postinfectious and postvaccinal immunity to anthrax and problems of retrospective diagnosis of this disease are discussed.