The Role of Birds as Potential Reservoirs of West Nile Virus in the Territory of the Russian Federation

Submitted are the materials on epizootiology of West Nile Fever in birds, taking into account their migration. Described are the characteristics of WNF in wild and synanthropic birds. Ecological relationships between birds, mosquitoes, ticks and West Nile virus are analyzed. Main autumn bird migratory directions are characterized and the data on WNF monitoring in birds in different geographical regions of Russia are presented

West Nile Fever Epidemic Situation in the Russian Federation Territory in 2011 and Prognosis of its Development

Presented is characteristic of West Nile Fever (WNF) epidemiologic situation in the Russian Federation in 2011. Expansion of the territories involved in the epidemic process and formation of the new WNF foci are observed. Data on WNF morbidity in June-October 2011 in ten regions of Russia are presented. Described are clinical and epidemiologic peculiarities of WNF morbidity in 2011. WNF agent markers are detected in the territory of 38 regions of Russia, suggesting its circulation on the vast areas of the country. Prognosis on WNF epidemic situation in the Russian Federation is considered to be dependent on many factors, climate warming being the most global one. Natural foci emergence and WNF cases registration are expected in the near future in the central regions of European part of Russia and forest-steppe area of Southern Siberia. WNF diagnostics improvement is thought to confer for better registration of the cases and detection of further enlargement of endemic territories

Peculiarities of Epidemiological Situation on the West Nile Fever in 2012 in the Territory of the Russian Federation

During the epidemic season of 2012 453 cases of West Nile fever (WNF) were registered in the territory of the 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Epidemic process is spreading itself towards the northern regions of Russia. The presence of markers of West Nile fever virus in carriers and vectors of the disease as well as acquired immunity among the population against the West Nile virus (WNV) have been identified in the territory of 53 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The epidemic process is characterized by a number of peculiarities concerning both its epidemiological and clinical aspects. With the intensification of diagnostic works among the patients with clinical symptomatology similar to WNF, first and foremost in the territories where WNV markers have been detected, prognosticated is the registration of WNF incidence among the population extending over a large area of the Russian Federation

WEST NILE FEVER WORLDWIDE AND IN THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN 2016, AND FORECAST OF EPIDEMIC SITUATION DEVELOPMENT IN 2017

In Europe, as in Russia and Canada, outlined was a tendency to the increase in the morbidity rates, while in the US – the incidence was somewhat lower as compared to previous years. On the whole, West Nile fever incidence rates in the Russian Federation by regions during the epidemic season, 2016 were below the average long-term index. Above the average regional annual incidence rates were registered in the Saratov region only and accounted for 64 % of all reported cases in Russia. Analysis of the monitoring results indicated the circulation of WNF virus markers in carriers of the pathogen in 10 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the presence of IgG antibodies in healthy population cohorts in 30 RF entities. According to molecular-genetic typing of WNF virus samples from a deceased patient in the Astrakhan Region and mosquito Culex samples from the Volgograd Region, WNF virus genotype I was established. Forecasting of epidemiological situation development for the year 2017 does not rule out the possibility of local increase in WNF incidence in certain regions of Russia

Results of Monitoring over the West Nile Fever Pathogen in the Territory of the Russian Federation in 2017. Forecast of Epidemic Situation Development in Russia in 2018

In Europe, in the epidemic season 2017, the incidence of West Nile fever did not exceed the index of the previous season. In the US and Canada, there was an increase in the incidence of cases. West Nile fever morbidity rates in the Russian Federation and in separate constituent entities were below the average long-term index and had the lowest value for the period since 2008. 41.6 % of WNF cases were imported to Russia from the distant countries. Analysis of the monitoring results indicated the circulation of WNF virus markers in carriers of the pathogen in 6 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the presence of IgG antibodies in healthy population cohorts in 24 RF entities. According to molecular-genetic typing of WNF virus samples from mosquito Culex modestus from the Volgograd Region, WNF virus genotype II was established. Forecasting of epidemiological situation development for the year 2018 does not rule out the possibility of local increase in WNF incidence in certain regions of Russia

Zika Fever: The Current State of the Issue

This article provides the basic information on the current epidemiological situation on Zika fever across the world, the data on ZIKV global distribution, its main transmission routes, peculiarities of infection manifestations, and major approaches in the laboratory diagnostics. Taking into account the significant complication of the epidemiological situation on Zika fever in North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, as well as the tendency towards the expansion of the areals of ZIKV effective vectors, identified are the key priority tasks to minimize epidemiological risks of Zika fever in the Russian Federation

Provision of Epidemiological Surveillance and Prophylaxis of Zika Fever in the Russian Federation

Epidemic outspread of Zika fever has given WHO authority to declare emergency situation in the sphere of international healthcare. Major risks for the Russian Federation are associated with the import of the disease by persons, infected in epidemiologically hazardous territory, or import of Zika virus vectors by transport means of international traffic. In this context, developed and normatively regimented is the complex of measures aimed at prevention of Zika virus disease, comprising activities to control import of the infection from enzootic territories, monitoring over the vectors of virus, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus , and procedure for disinfection operations. Developed and introduced into practice is a home-made preparation for laboratory diagnostics and detection of Zika virus RNA using PCR. The article covers the issue of possible dissemination of the vectors in southern regions of Russia in view of climate warming. It is concluded that nowadays probability of local Zika virus transmission in “human-mosquito” cycle is extremely low and no complications of epidemiological situation on arboviral Ae. aegypti- and Ae. albopictus- borne infections are predicted

Peculiarities of the Epidemic Situation on West Nile Fever in the Territory of the Russian Federation in 2018 and Forecast of its Development in 2019

The epidemic rise in the incidence of West Nile fever (WNF) in the season of 2018 was observed in the countries of the European Union (EU) and bordering states and exceeded the values of all previously recorded epidemic rises of 2010–2012. An increase in the incidence rate was registered in the USA and Canada, however, it did not exceed the indicators of epidemic rises of 2007–2012. In the territory of the Russian Federation, the WNF epidemiological process became more intense mainly in the territory of the Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts. In general, in Russia, the incidence rates were 2 times lower than the average annual rates, but significantly exceeded those of 2017. The epidemic process had a number of peculiarities in the seasonality, the structure of morbidity and the clinical manifestation of WNF. Genotyping of the isolated WNV RNA fragments from clinical and biological material showed that I, II and IV West Nile virus genotypes were circulating in the European part of Russia. Forecast of epidemic situation development in 2019 reveals further increase in the incidence and does not exclude the possibility of a significant localincrease of WNF incidence in certain regions of Russia

Experience in International Cooperation on Organization of Anti-Epidemic Measures by Health Care Institutions under COVID-19 Pandemic in the Republic of Uzbekistan

The results of the joint work of a panel of experts from Rospotrebnadzor and healthcare professionals of the Republic of Uzbekistan on organizing activities to counter the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are described in the paper.The goal of the study was to determine the main driving forces of COVID-19 spread in the Republic of Uzbekistan and develop an action plan to reduce the incidence of coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Materials and methods. The organization of work in 14 health care institutions in Tashkent and Samarkand, as well as in Tashkent and Samarkand Regions, was analyzed: in 7 laboratories, 6 hospitals and 1 polyclinic. The routes for the movement of personnel, the demarcation of green and red zones, the features of disinfection and the use of personal protective equipment were studied. Attention is drawn to the diagnosis of COVID-19, the use of therapy aimed at reducing the period of virus shedding, the criteria for lifting quarantine restrictions for patients.Results and discussion. The main factors in the organization of work of institutions that contribute to the spread of COVID-19 among medical personnel and the population have been identifed: the lack of equipped gateways between the red and green zones with the accessibility of adequate disinfection, the wrong choice of personal protective equipment, monitoring of contact persons for 10 days, discharge from hospitals based on clinical improvement. The incorrect use of antiviral therapy, the lack of differentiated approaches to the selection of optimal regimens have been noted. Proposals are formulated for organizing the work of healthcare institutions, taking into account the requirements of biological safety. The introduction of targeted measures in addition to those previously adopted has led to a signifcant improvement in the epidemic situation: the total number of active cases in the Republic of Uzbekistan, despite the increase in testing volumes, decreased from 3,686 people on August 23 to 2335 on October 27. Towards December 20, 2020, 97 % of patients recovered completely. All diagnostic triage centers in the Republic of Uzbekistan are closed due to the absence of patients with COVID-19, most of the country’s medical institutions previously re-profled for patients with coronavirus infection have returned to the routine operations

Dramatic Improvements to Feature Based Stereo

The camera registration extracted from feature based stereo is usually considered sufficient to accurately localize the 3D points. However, for natural scenes the feature localization is not as precise as in man-made environments. This results in small camera registration errors. We show that even very small registration errors result in large errors in dense surface reconstruction. We describe a method for registering entire images to the inaccurate surface model. This gives small, but crucially important improvements to the camera parameters. The new registration gives dramatically better dense surface reconstruction