[Epidemiological situation on tularemia in the regions of Stavropol Territory affected by flood]. / Epidemiologicheskaia situatsiia po tuliaremii v raionakh Stavropol'skogo Kraia, podvergshikhsia navodneniiu.

The data obtained in the analysis of the epidemiological situation in tularemia in the zone of inundation in the Stavropol Territory in 2002 are presented. The current systematic epidemiological surveillance, as well as the data of urgent epizootological and epidemiological survey in the zone of inundation permitted the objective prognostication of the situation in tularemia and formed the basis for the rational planning and realization of prophylactic measures.

[Gene typing of infectious tularemia strains isolated from the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories]. / Genotipirovanie shtammov vozbutelia tuliaremii, vydelennykh na territoriiakh Stavropol'skogo i Krasnodarskogo Kraev.

The typing of F. tularensis strains by four variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) loci has been carried out. Among the strains isolated in the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories seven genotypes have been detected and their spread in different natural foci has been analyzed. The data thus obtained suggest that the VNTR analysis may become an important instrument for studying the structure of the natural foci of tularemia and evolutionary relationships between individual areas of these foci.

[Epizootic significance of white-toothed shrews in the natural focus of steppe type tularemia in the Stavropol' region]. / Epizooticheskoe znachenie zemleroek belozubok v prirodnom ochage tuliaremii stepnogo tipa v Stavropol'skom krae.

The observations indicate that anthropogenic activities cause structural changes with time among tularemia pathogen carriers in the microfocus. The epizootic and epidemic values of animal species, such as dwarf hamsters and house mice, decrease while those of insect-eating animals, namely white-toothed shrews that refer to Group II increase, in terms of tularemia infection susceptibility. In white-toothed shrews, tularemia infection rates are 4-6-times greater than those in other small mammals that refer to Group I.

[Role of some wild birds and mammals in the natural foci of Crimean haemorrhagic fever in Stavropol' region]. / Rol' nekotorykh dikikh ptits i mlekopitaiushchikh v prirodnoi ochagovosti krymskoi gemorragicheskoi likhoradki v Stavropol'skom krae.

The results of the study on the role of some wild mammals and birds as feeding sources of for ticks Hyalomma marginatum, the main vectors of Crimean haemorrhagic fever virus in the Stavropol Territory, in the preimago phases of their development are presented. These phases (larvae and nymphs) were found on rooks, hooded crows, partridges, European brown hares and eared hedgehogs. The examination of domestic fowl resulted in finding larvae and nymphs in small amounts on turkeys. According to the data of the epizootological survey carried out in summer and autumn of 2000 in the Stavropol Territory, rooks and, to a lesser extent, hares were found to be the main feeding sources for ticks in the preimago phases. Rodents seemed to be of minimal importance as feeding sources under the conditions of the Stavropol Territory. Of all animals, rooks must be the main object in the epizootological survey of the territory.

[Specialized epidemic brigade during extreme situation]. / Iz opyta raboty spetsializirovannoi protivoépidemicheskoi brigady v ekstremal'nykh usloviiakh.

Information on the main trends in the activity and on the organization of the work of the specialized antiepidemic brigade of the Stavropol Research Institute for Plague Control in Grozny in the first half of the year 2000 is presented. At the initial stage of this activity the specialists of the brigade were entrusted with all functions of the local state sanitary and epidemiological service which had lost its qualified personnel and material resources. At the initial stages of the work the main attention was drawn to the organization of the registration of patients with infectious diseases, to the control of drinking water and to the realization of immunoprophylactic measures, etc. The specialists of the brigade carried out their work in close cooperation with the medical service of the Territorial Head Office of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation in the Chechen Republic.

[On the sanitary-hygienic state of the drinking water supply facility and the organization of the sanitary and bacteriological control of the water supply of the population of Grozny in recent years]. / O sanitarno-gigienicheskom sostoianii ob"ektov pit'evogo vodosnabzheniia i organizatsii sanitarnogo i bakteriologicheskogo kontrolia vodosnabzheniia naseleniia g.Groznyi v poslednie gody.

Information on the state of water supply in Grozny in the time of peace, during the armed conflict of 1994-1996 and at the period of the antiterrorist operation in the year 2000 is presented. In the year 2000 the centralized water supply of the population proved to be completely paralyzed. The quality of water brought to the city and water from the sources of decentralized water supply considerably deviated from the norm by its bacteriological characteristics. The control of the quality of drinking water supplied to the population was carried out only by the bacteriological laboratory of the specialized antiepidemic brigade.

[Comparative characterization of Vibrio cholerae O1, isolated from surface water reservoirs in Grozny in 1995 and 2000]. / Sravnitel'naia kharakteristika shtammov Vibrio cholerae O1, vydelennykh iz poverkhnostnykh vodoemov g. Groznyi v 1995 g. i 2000 g.

The results of complete identification revealed the phenotypical similarity of V. cholerae strains isolated from surface water reservoirs im Grozny in 1995 and 2000. The strains under study proved to be atoxigenic, hemolysis-positive and phage resistant. The modified method of subculturing from peptone water 1 to peptone water 2 was more labor-consuming, but it was used in the bacteriological laboratory of the specialized antiepidemic brigade with the aim of more profound study of open reservoirs for the presence of V. cholerae with the positive result.

[Outbreak of tularemia in the Republic of Dagestan]. / Vspyshka tuliaremii v Respublike Dagestan.

In Daghestan in the focus of the flood-plain swamp type 64 persons fell ill with tularemia in 1999. During the epizootological survey 8 Francisella tularensis strains were isolated from vectors and carriers and in 7 samples taken from open water reservoirs, as well as in 1 sample obtained from Ixodes ticks, tularemia antigen was detected. Humans were infected mainly by the transmissive route, as found in 71.8% of patients. 28% of patients were infected through contacts. The disease took mainly a mild course, registered in 95.6% of patients. The disease affected those persons who had not been immunized against tularemia.

[Taxonomic position and ecology of the causative agent of brucellosis isolated from murine rodents in regions of the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus. II. The ecological and pathogenetic characteristics of Brucella strains isolated from murine rodents]. / Taksonomicheskoe polozhenie i ékologiia vozbuditelia brutselleza, vydeliaemogo ot myshevidnykh gryzunov v raionakh severnykh predgorii Bol'shogo Kavkaza. Soobshchenie II. Ekologicheskie i patogeneticheskie osobennosti shtammov brutsell, vydeliaemykh ot myshevidnykh gryzunov.

To establish the possibility of the circulation of brucellae among the population of myomorphous rodents, the mass survey of these rodents was carried out in the mountainous and foothill regions of the Caucasus. In the area of the northern foothills of the Caucasian Mountains 23 Brucella cultures were isolated from 2715 rodents under examination; these cultures proved to be similar to B. suis 1330 in respect to their pathogenicity and the character of pathomorphological changes induced in guinea pigs. Experiments on white mice demonstrated the possibility of brucellar contamination through sexual route and through feces.

[Comparative evaluation of the spectrum of lytic effects of bacteriophages TB, Wb, Fi, BK 2 and R on various Brucella species]. / Sravnitel'noe izuchenie spektra liticheskogo deistviia bakteriofagov TB, Wb, Fi, BK 2 i R na razlichnye vidy roda Brucella.

The lytic activity of Brucella phages TB, Wb, Fi, BK2 and R on various Brucella species has been studied. Phage TB has been found to lyse B. abortus, B. suis and B. neotoma, phage Fi has proved to be no different from phage TB, while phage Wb has shown higher activity in respect of B. suis; phage BK2 has been found to lyse B. abortus and, to a lesser extent, B. suis and B. melitensis; phage R has shown low activity, while splitting out phages capable of lysing B. abortus cultures in the S-form. All these phages multiply well in the corresponding indicator strains grown in Martin's broth. The Brucella cultures isolated from myomorphous rodents in the northern foothills of the Caucasus have been found to be similar to B. suis in respect to their spectrum of phage sensitivity, differing from B. suis only by forming smaller negative colonies in the presence of phage Wb.