[The problems of laboratory diagnostic of rickettsiosis of group spotted tick-bite fever in Russia].

The article presents analysis of modern techniques of laboratory diagnostic of rickettsiosis of spotted tick-bite fever group. Owing to drastic shortage of list of produced preparations and increasing of specter of detected types of rickettsia in Russia the new approaches to laboratory verification of diagnoses are needed. To detect antibodies to rickettsia of spotted tick-bite fever group can be recommended such techniques as reaction of indirect immune fluorescence and immune enzyme assay with antigens of corresponding types of rickettsia. The most acceptable techniques for detecting and identifying rickettsia of spotted tick-bite fever group are polymerase chain reaction restricting analysis and polymerase chain reaction sequence analysis. The biological methods of analysis are needed to study pathogenic types of rickettsia.

[ON THE ROLE OF RICKETTSIA RAOULTII IN THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF RICKETTSIOSES IN RUSSIA].

The paper analyzes data on the prevalence and possible epidemiological importance of Rickettsia raoultii. The possible risk of infection in the population was assessed from the results of a serological study of patients after tick suction and from those of molecular biological determination of contamination of removed carriers. The place of Rickettsia raoultii among other rickettsia causing rickettsioses of a tick-borne spotted fever group is assessed in Russia.

[Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum in etiology of urogenital mixt-infections].

The complex study of 104 vaginal samples from patients with urogenital uroplasmosis was carried out. U. parvum were detected in 67.3% patients, U. urealyticum--in 12.5% and in 20.1% cases--two species were registered at the same time. Isolation of clinical significant concentration of both ureaplasma (> 10(4) CFU/ ml) was detected in about 50% of cases. Expression of inflammation of vaginal mucus depended on the level of concentration of infection agents. U. parvum were associated with bacterial vaginosis, while in urogenital candidosis U. parvum was detected rarer than U. urealyticum. The dominant numbers of clinical ureaplasma were high sensitive to "new" macrolides and chinolons, however the high percent of isolates were resistant to erytromicin and doxiciclin.

[Genetic identification of rickettsiae of the tick-borne spotted fever group, isolated in the foci of tick-borne rickettsiosis]. / Geneticheskaia identifikatsiia rikketsii gruppy kleshchevoi piatnistoi likhoradki, izolirovannykh v ochagakh kleshchevogo rikketsioza.

A total of 25 rickettsial cultures of the tick-borne spotted fever (TBSF) group from the collection of the Research Institute of Infections in Omsk, isolated from different sources in the territory of the Russian Federation (from the Urals to the Far East) during the period of 1954-2001) were studied by the methods of genetic analysis. The fragments of the gene coding the outer-membrane protein of 190 kD (ompA) and synthetase citrate (gltA) of the rickettsiae under the study were sequenced. 23 isolates were identified as R. sibirica, among them 3 isolates obtained from patients, 16 isolates obtained from Dermacentor ticks, 2 isolates from Haemaphysalis concinna and 2--from Ixodes persulcatus. The strain Primorye 32/84, isolated from D. silvarum ticks in the Far East and earlier identified as S. sibirica by the results of the PCR-RFLP analysis proved to be a genovariant Rickettsia spBJ-90, i.e. close to this species. Strain Karpunino 19/69, isolated in the Kurgan region, was identified as R. slovaca. The results obtained extended our notions of the spectrum of rickettsiae group TBSF in Russia as well as their vectors.

[Genotypic characteristics of Rickettsia sibirica strains]. / Genotipicheskaia kharakteristika shtammov Rickettsia sibirica.

Six Rickettsia sibirica strains isolated in Siberia and Far East (Primorje) from various sources (patient, ticks D. nuttali, D. silvarum, H. concinna) at different time (1940-1980) were studied by the RFLP and DNA probe hybridization techniques. All studied strains were found to have the identical profiles of migrating fragments in restrictograms got by using a set of endonucleases (EcoRI, PstI, PvuII, Bg1I, XbaI, HindIII, MspI) and similar zones of hybridization with a DNA probe derived from Rickettsia prowazekii DNA. The obtained data point to a close similarity between the genomes of investigated Rickettsia sibirica strains. Long-term isolation of the genetically similar Rickettsia sibirica strains testifies to their constant circulation, thus apparently determining the stability of epidemiologic manifestation of tick-borne typhus fever of Northern Asia in the central part of its area (Siberia, Far East).

[Data on the typing of natural foci of tick-borne rickettsiosis in Siberia and the Far East]. / Materialy po tipizatsii prirodnykh ochagov kleshchevogo rikketsioza Sibiri i Dal'nego Vostoka.

The studies of the level of Ixodidae ticks infestation and seroepidemiological parameters made it possible to characterize specific features of the epidemic process in foci with different tick species. A working principle for the typing of the natural foci of tick-borne rickettsiosis has been suggested. According to the number of tick species 3 types of foci have been identified: monovector, divector and polyvector foci.