Vol 16, No 2 (2011)

Childhood morbidity is not only the most important determinant of irretrievable losses of the population due to mortality, but also is a major factor that contributes to the lower general potential of public health. The latest studies indicate that the prevalence of intrauterine infections is considerably higher than previously considered, which suggests that their etiology is represented by a broader spectrum of microorganisms. The study of the pattern of perinatal infectious pathology while examining amniotic fluid and uterine cavity contents has shown that there is a preponderance of the bacterial microflora. The results of studying the placenta suggest the high level (83%) of intrauterine rotavirus infection. The high incidence of rotavirus infection in the neonatal period may be associated with rotavirus infection during pregnancy, which substantiates the need for further investigations.

The paper provides evidence for that it is essential to improve the epidemiological surveillance system for influenza and acute respiratory infections. It shows the goals and objectives of epidemiological surveillance under the present conditions. The basic directions and ways of improving the epidemiological surveillance system in Uzbekistan are presented.

One hundred and twenty women with obstetric and gynecological diseases, such as women with infertility (Group 1), nonpregnant ones with a history of miscarriage (Group 2), and pregnant ones with a history of habitual miscarriage (Group 3) were examined. Comparison groups comprised 150 female blood donors and 200 pregnant women with physiological pregnancy (Cheboksary, Chuvash Republic). Enzyme immunoassay was used to determine IgM and IgG HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, and anti-HCV; as well as IgM and IgG antibodies against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, and toxoplasmosis; polymerase chain reaction was employed to identify hepatitis B (HB) virus (HBV) DNA and hepatitis C (HC) virus (HCV) RNA. No substantial differences were found in the detection of markers of HB in women with a history of obstetric and gynecological diseases (HOGD) (30.8% of cases) and in the comparison groups (34 and 31%); markers of HC were more frequently seen in women with HOGD (5.8%): 10% (50% RNA+) in Group 1, 5% (all RNA+) in Group 2, and 2 and 3% in the control groups, respectively. In the HOGD groups A, there was a large proportion of patients having IgM antibodies against CMV infection (2.5 to 5%), HSV (5%), and T. gondi (10-15%). There was a high percentage of subjects with markers of HC among women with obstetric and gynecological diseases (5.8 and 2% in the blood donors). A combination of markers of infections, such as HBV+HSV, HBV+CMV, HBV+HSV+CMV, HCV+HSV, and HCV+HSV+CMV, was found in a considerable proportion of subjects with HOGD. Among the clinical manifestations, there was a preponderance of infertility, a history of miscarriage, threatening miscarriage during current pregnancy, fetal growth retardation, and placentitis. No clinical manifestations of the study infections were observed in all the examinees so serological assays rank first to diagnose these infections.

During the seventh cholera pandemic, the cyclicity of its manifestations was established, which depended on solar activity. Five cycles with a mean length of 11 years were identified. These are 1958-1969, 1970-1979, 1980-1990, 1991-2001, and 2002 to the present time (2009). The onset of each cycle is timed to the phase of the Sun maximum activity and falls on the first or second year after the year of the maximum solar activity. The emergence of a new pathogenic variant of V. cholerae is timed to the third or fourth year after the maximum. The parameters that enable the onset of a pandemic to be defined are considered.

The paper presents the results of a study of clinical and epidemiological approaches to diagnosing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in an active natural focus of the disease in the period 1996 to 2007.

The discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is a great event in medicine and microbiology. This is one of the infectious agents, which causes the most common human digestive diseases: chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer disease. Succeeding years showed that this infection was also a cause of gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. The prevalence of Hp infection depends on a social factor. The virulence factors of Hp, which are responsible for chemotaxis and its sequels, have been identified. Of the existing diagnostic techniques, preference is given to noninvasive methods, the urease respiration test in particular. Chronic gastric inflammation is noted to be of importance in the occurrence of ulcer disease. New information also concerns some "usefulness" of Hp infection in childhood; in this connection, caution must be exercised in the recommendations for universal prophylactic eradication therapy. Attention is drawn to the emergence of resistant Hp strains after eradication and to the overcoming of antibiotic resistance in Hp. Whether mass screening is made to clarify the prevalence of Hp infection in Russia is discussed. Important information is given on the existence of noninvasive Hp diagnostic techniques based on the evaluation of the urease activity of the bacteria, which is not practically used in the Russian health care system. Introduction of this diagnostic technique for Hp infection may solve the problem of health improvement in the Russian Federation's population.