[An HIV prevalence study by means of sentinel epidemiological surveillance among injection narcotic abusers in Saint Petersburg]. / Izuchenie rasprostranennosti VICh metodom dozornogo épidnadzora sredi potrebitelei in''ektsionnykh narkotikov v Sankt-Peterburge.

The data on the study of the spread of HIV infection among injecting drug users in St. Petersburg, carried out by the method of the random testing of blood remaining in used syringes, are presented. Injecting drug users visiting buses working in accordance with the program "Buses for Assistance to Drug Addicts" were chosen as a study group. The exchange of syringes was one of the elements of this program. The work was carried out in two areas with a high concentration of drug users. The eluates from syringes used by 300 persons were studied. The average rate of the spread of HIV in the cohort under study was 12%. The results were indicative of a high degree of the spread of HIV among injecting drug users in St. Petersburg. Epidemiological patrol surveillance proved to be an effective method for the evaluation of the epidemiological situation in a highly inaccessible group of the population.

[The methodological aspects in enhancing the efficacy of the epidemiological surveillance of HIV infection]. / Metodologicheskie aspekty povysheniia éffektivnosti épidemiologicheskogo nadzora za VICh-infektsii.

Using a systems approach, the authors examined the main principles underlying an expert-based system for epidemiological surveillance over HIV infection. The principle objective is to control the processes which precede the occurrence of new infected cases and further spread of HIV infection. Accordingly, the system should address the following: epidemiological diagnosis and prediction of HIV incidence and spread, development of optimal preventive anti-epidemiological measures, research into how the infection spread. This should incorporate a database which is made by the hierarchic principle: the parameters of higher levels include those of lower level. So that the highest level would include two main integral estimates characterizing the risk of HIV from the outside (the first estimate) and the risk of HIV infection (the second estimate).