Tick-borne borrelioses pathogen identification in Ixodes ticks (Acarina, Ixodidae) collected in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad Baltic regions of Russia.

Two isolated Baltic seashore populations of Ixodes ticks were studied as vectors of different Borrelia genospecies in Russia by using darkfield microscopy and modified polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the Kalinigrad region (Kurish Spit, forests near the settlements of Lesnoye and Rybachy), 788 Ixodes ricinus (L.) adults and nymphs were collected by flagging and studied by darkfield microscopy during 1995-1996. There were 88 darkfield microscopy positive specimens (11.2%) of which 69 were also analyzed by PCR. Borrelia afzelii and B. garinii were found individually and together in ticks. In this region, on the Kurish Spit, 7 patients with tick borrelioses were observed: 2 in the Russian part of Spit and 5 in the Lithuanian part. A significant difference was found between Borrelia prevalence during the spring and fall peaks of tick abundance. Specimens that were darkfield microscopy positive prevailed in the fall (25.15%) in comparison with the spring peak (7.3%). The number of specimens with identified genospecies prevailed in the spring: 22 out of 35 versus 4 out of 31 in the fall. Among 29 PCR positive I. ricinus, 21 contained B. afzelii, 3 had B. garinii, and 2 had dual infection. In 1995, only B. afzelii infected specimens were observed. In the vicinity of St. Petersburg (the seashore of the northern Gulf of Finland, in forests near Lisy Nos, Morskaja) during 1992-1996, 31 patients with a tick-borne borrelioses were registered. We collected 487 Ixodes persulcatus Schulze by flagging and studied them by darkfield microscopy in 1995-1996 of which 144 ticks (29.6%) were darkfield microscopy positive. Sixty darkfield-positive specimens were analyzed by PCR, and in 88.3% of cases genospecies were identified. B. afzelii and B. garinii were identified individually and together in ticks. In 1995, I. persulcatus with dual infection prevailed with 11 out of 21 (52.4% positive), whereas in 1996, most I. persulcatus ticks contained B. garinii (81.2%). Dual infection was observed in 4 of 32 (12.5%) ticks. Dual infections in I. persulcatus females increased within the seasonal peak of tick activity as was observed in 1995 and in 1996. Many patients not only had erythema migrans, but also exhibited early neurological symptoms that coincided with the number of tick vectors that had dual infections in June, indicating that these patients were bitten by female ticks that had dual infections. A significant difference existed between levels of infection in I. ricinus and I. persulcatus, with all 3 types of Borrelia infection observed 2 times more often in I. persulcatus than in I. ricinus and dual infection occurred in I. persulcatus 3.7 times more often. It appeared that I. persulcatus is a much more dangerous vector of tick-borne borrelioses than I. ricinus.

[The clinical characteristics of 2 outbreaks of trichinelliasis]. / Klinicheskaia kharakteristika dvukh vspyshek trikhinelleza.

In 1988-1989 two outbreaks of trichinosis were recorded. The first case was group disease developed in 3 members of the family. The source of infection was rissoles rolled in cabbage leaves [correction of goloubets] stuffed with minced pork. The second outbreak affected 13 persons who had eaten home-made pork sausage and fat. All the patients displayed fever, weakness, muscular pain, subcutaneous fat edema, predominantly of the face. The patients suffered from dry mouth, thirst, deteriorated appetite, exanthema, eosinophilia, more occasionally, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Trichinosis was confirmed serologically. Vermox therapy (300 mg per day) was performed for 7 to 12 days. The disease was severe, moderate and mild in 5, 7 and 4 patients, respectively. A brief abstract from a case record of a patient with severe trichinosis complicated by allergic myocarditis is presented. The severity of the disease was associated with the infecting dose and the time at which etiotropic therapy was started. Vermox had a good therapeutic effect and caused no adverse events.

[The detection of human cryptosporidiosis in Leningrad]. / Obnaruzhenie kriptosporidioza cheloveka v Leningrade.

Stool specimens from 127 adults with gastrointestinal disorders, 357 persons engaged in a livestock farming in the district of Leningrad were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts with the Ziehl-Neelson routine. Five positive cases were established among the latter cohort. Besides, the study conducted at the hospitals of Leningrad that enrolled 373 children aged under 7 years revealed oocysts in 10 of them. Two of the latters had high temperature (39-40 degrees C) during 3 and 5 days, respectively. Common clinical symptoms of cryptosporidiosis were vomiting, profuse diarrhea and weakness. Accompanied with the normalization of the stool the mean recovery time was 7.4 days. One child recovered 15 days after the disease onset. For the first time human cryptobiosis was detected in the USSR (Leningrad). Its sources and the routes of transmission still remain unknown.