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The main purpose of the epidemiological surveillance system for malaria in the Russian Federation is now to prevent the possible consequences of malaria-imported by Russians and foreigners from endemic areas. A quarter of the approximately 100 cases notified each year in the country are detected in Moscow. During an epidemic season, a package of measures to identify infection sources (malaria patients and parasite carriers) and to decline the number of malaria vectors is implemented and the sanitary state, of open water bodies and the efficiency of larvicidal measures are supervised.

Our first experience in genotyping Giardia from Moscow residents, has shown that 4 and 2 of seven samples belong to G. duodenalis genotype A and genotype B, respectively; one sample was negative during amplification with two types of primers. Genotyping was Carried out using the specific primers TPIA and TPIB to the gene encoding for the enzyme triosephosphate isomerase from the parasite. Thus, further such investigations using a larger number of samples will be able to complement the epidemiology of Lamblia infection in Moscow residents.

The prevalence of toxocariasis was studied among a population of domestic and stray dogs and cats. In a megalopolis, Toxocara invasion was 31.6% in a population of cats and 82 and 25.4% in that of puppies and dogs, respectively. A method was developed for the molecular genetic identification of T. cati and T. canis.

Permethrin and malathion resistance in body and head lice collected from homeless people in Moscow was investigated in March 2009 to March 2010. Most micropopulations were found to have permethrin-resistant individuals. Their proportion varied from 8.7 to 100%. Cross resistance of body lice to 5 insecticides (the pyrethroids permethrin, d-phenothrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and the organic chlorine compound DDT) was revealed in one case. The lice remained susceptible to organic phosphorus insecticides (fenthion, malathion). The data on permethrin resistance in the lice, obtained by the standard method (immersion of the insects into an insecticide solution), correlated with those yielded by the modified WHO method.

The spread of canine and human dirofilariasis was first studied in the Moscow Region, a low disease transmission risk area. D.repens infestation was found to have a tendency to increase in Moscow residents with the imported cases being predominant. In 33 (84.6%) districts of the Moscow Region, dogs were registered to have D. immitis and D. repens infestation, with the former being preponderant in 31 districts. An original map of dirofilariasis distribution was compiled with the areas being singled out at a distance of Moscow: 15-20 km (6 districts) (the first ring); as long as 70 km (11 districts) (the second ring), and over 70 km (16 districts) where infestation rates greatly varied in both the number of infected animals and human beings and the species of causative agents.

In Moscow, 7 species of helminths and 5 species of protozoa were found in domestic dogs and 6 species of helminths and 6 species of protozoa were detected in domestic cats. Such a great variety in pararistic diseases is distinguished for a low, but steady-state extensity of invasion. The change in socioeconomic relations accompanied by a gradual rise in the number of domestic and stray dogs in the megalopolis may create prerequisites for not only the spread, but also occurrence of parasitic diseases that have not been earlier notified in the city.

In the past 2 years, the malaria epidemiological situation in Moscow has drastically deteriorated, sporadic cases of local transmission of tertian malaria (Plasmodium vivax) have been notified, which permits one to pose a problem, namely to eliminate malaria in the megapolis by 2010. Monitoring and assessment of the entomological situation, surveillance of the malaria vectors Anopheles mosquitoes in particular, acquire vital importance. The entomological surveillance has shown its efficiency on the territory of the megapolis and a need for continuous monitoring and assessment in future in order to consolidate the achieved success and to attain malaria elimination in Moscow by 2010. The major benefit of hydraulic measures is that they are directed on fundamental radical environmental enhancement. The impact of timely and properly implanted hydraulic measures is long-term, therefore this prophylactic line has been considered to be of priority.

The malaria situation in Moscow in 2007 versus 2006 improved--the cases of malaria reduced by 16.3%. A total of 30 new cases of malaria were notified (46 cases in 2006), of them there were 34 imported cases and 4 secondary cases to imported ones. In 2007, the proportion of tertian malaria cases reduced to 55.3% versus 60.9% in 2006. As compared with 2005, in 2007 the cases of locally transmitted malaria decreased by 5 times--from 20 to 4, only 1 case of infection occurred in Moscow (Central Administrative District) and 3 cases took place in the Moscow Region (Ramensky, Stupinsky, and Dmitrovsky districts). Cases of malaria were notified in all administrative districts, with their largest number in the South-Western Administrative District of Moscow due to the detection of ill students from the Russian University of People's Friendship who had come to study from African countries. In accordance to the performed certification of water reservoirs in 2007, a total of 722 Moscow water reservoirs of an area of 1569 ha were registered at the Administration of the Russian Agency for Consumer Surveillance. The examination frequency of all water reservoirs was about 13 per season, including 20 anopheles-containing ones. The larvae of bloodsucking mosquitoes inhabited 541 (75%) water reservoirs, including 461 (63%) water reservoirs occupied by the malaria vector. As compared with 2006, the area of treatments increased by 351 ha. In the summer, a total of 2133.3 ha ofwater reservoirs were treated, including 2009.5 ha against larvae of malaria mosquitoes. The bulk of water reservoirs were exposed to triple-quadruple treatments.

The Moscow Region is the largest administrative territorial entity that comprises 39 districts, 72 towns, 110 urban settlements, and above 6,000 inhabited localities. This is the most populated region of Russia with the average density of 334.5 persons per square kilometers, which is almost 40 times greater than that of the whole country's population. The malaria situation in the Moscow Region was stable till 2001, then drastically aggravated: in the past 50 years there has been intensive local malaria transmission through malaria mosquitoes in the Moscow Region for the first time. In 2001, there were a total of 98 cases of malaria, of them there were 40 cases of infection; in 2002 there were 103 cases, including 49 cases caused via local transmission. Due to the increased antimalaria measures, the situation gradually improved and in 2007 the malaria cases notified in the region decreased to 20, of them there were 6 locally transmitted cases. Larvicidal treatments of water reservoirs in 2006 were performed in 27 administrative areas, by covering 497 water reservoirs of an area of 296 ha. In 2007, water reservoirs were treated in 23 administrative areas, by covering 684 water reservoirs, the area of which was 369 ha.

The present paper gives data on prediction of the number of Muscovites and homeless individuals who suffered from scab in 1998-2005. As of 2005, the difference in the expected and actual number of scab patients among the Muscovites and the homeless was 4.3 and 13% less than the expected values, respectively. At the same time the authors show that over 6 years (2005-2010) the incidence of scab will be able to reduce by 43.5 and 48.7% among the Muscovites and the homeless, respectively. Due to the extensive use of the inexpensive, safe, and most effective drugs medifox and medifox-super to treat scab and disinfect its foci, the efficiency of the treatment and prevention of scab has considerably increased. The above and other measures implemented by a dermatovenereological service and the concerned organizations improved the rating of Moscow: if it occupied the tenth place in the incidence of scab in 1999, then in 2003 it ranked third among the subjects of the Russian Federation.

The paper describes the epizootic situation associated with parasitic diseases in dogs and cats in the megapolis of Moscow. The situation becomes particular dangerous in the dogs kept in the flats of the city's dwellers wherein 30 (28%) out of the 107 dogs examined have been found to be infested with T. canis, T. leonine, T. vulpis, Taenia sp., D. caninum, and two protozoan species: Cystoisospora canis and C. ohioenensis. Out of the 80 cats examined, there are 22 (27.5%) infested cats. T. mystax, T. leonine, Taenia sp., and Cystoisospora felis are detectable in this group of the animals. This situation constitutes a serious hazard in the infection of the city's population with zoonoses.

On the basis of an analysis of the contamination with intestinal protozoa in 373 Moscow children and comparison of the data of a randomized protozoological study of matched groups of 543 children from three towns of the Russian Federation in the past 15 years, the authors revealed profound changes in the pattern of intestinal parasitocenosis in the examinees: preponderance of B. hominis recently reclassified as a protozoan in all groups of examinees; a reduction in the detectable protozoan types up to a single type both among parasitic amoebas (E. coli) and flagellates (L. intestinalis). The incidence of giardiasis among the children's collective bodies averaged 3.5% and that in the kindergartens was 0.5%.

Before eradication of malaria in the USSR, there was a steady transmission of vivax malaria in the Moscow Region. In the posteradication period, there were two insignificant cases of local transmission: in 1972 and 1982. However, since 1999, there has been a local transmission of malaria every year. The possible causes of the transmission are analyzed. This includes a change in favor of better climatic conditions for malaria transmission in 1948 to 2004. It is shown that a weather quality jump in about 1984, which appeared as the area's higher susceptibility. A great deal of anophelogenic water reservoirs open the way to a local transmission in summer months. The vulnerability of the area has increased with a larger number of migrants from the endemic areas of the former USSR. Thus, more cases of malaria import (increased vulnerability), possibilities of the carrier to multiply, better climatic conditions for transmitting malaria (increased susceptibility) have created conditions for worsening its situation in the Moscow Region.

Malaria was eradicated on the territory of Moscow in 1960; its imported cases mainly from the countries of Asia and Africa and sporadic cases secondary to the imported ones were recorded during the following 40 years. Mass migration of the population (businessmen, seasonal workers, etc.) from the endemic CIS countries in the late 1990s, particularly to the Moscow Region, increased cases of tertian malaria, resulting from the transmission of the infection by the mosquitoes Anopheles. A total of 793 cases of malaria, including 27 parasitic carriers, were recorded from 2000 to 2004. The proportion of Muscovites was 24.1% of the total cases of malaria in 2002 and increased up to 50% in 2004. The causative agents of tertian malaria (Plasmodium vivax) were detected in 74.8% of the total number of cases. The ongoing importation of malaria from Tadjikistan and Azerbaijan, the late establishment of final diagnosis, the shortage of antimalarial drugs make the malaria situation worse in Moscow, which requires that antiepidemic measures should be intensified in the coming 3 years.

The paper presents the results of a study of the impact of large-scale solid waste storage on ascariasis morbidity in the population. The use of sewage sediments as an organic soil fertilizer to grow strawberries and table greens is shown to substantially increase the risk of Ascaris infection in the population. Storage of solid domestic garbage on specialized dumping grounds does not lead to mass environmental pollution with geohelminthic eggs.

The paper describes the basic elements of informational provision of the scabies control system in Moscow which are presented as 3 components (sections): statistic, dynamic, and prognostic. Comparing the statistic and dynamic components of informational flows allows one to predict (a prognostic component) the evolution of the scabies epidemiological situation and the most promising trends in the improvement of the scabies control system in Moscow.

The analysis using the systems approach, analogue simulation, practical conclusions of the probability theory, mathematical statistical methods, programme-oriented work organization revealed and eliminated a number of neglects that had put bounds to scabies morbidity reduction among Moscovites. In 1998, the number of the foci that dermatovenereological facilities were unaware of substantially showed a 6.9-fold decrease. Therefore, the incidence of scabies reduced by 14.6% in the city in 1998. The paper presents the guidelines developed by the authors, which will ensure that the incidence rates of scabies be 25.07 per 100,000 Moscovites by 2005. It analyzes the scabies epidemiological situation among the homeless and possible measures to promote health in this group of persons.

Studying parasitic contamination is regarded as an individual research trend for large-scale land and water areas whose natural habitat is greatly modified by man-made influences. On the one hand, parasitic contamination as its particular form acts as a factor that destabilizing the environment, on the other, the man-made deformation of natural biocenoses, which is induced by socioeconomic influences promote its occurrence and manifestations. The investigations of parasitic contamination are beyond the scope of the routine parasitological goals, though they involve their whole package and should be considered as an ecological objective of environmental protection. The cenotic communications of the links of the parasitic systems with the physicochemical and biological ingredients of the habitat predetermine qualitative and quantitative differences of parasitic contamination in the large urban areas and, finally, the dissimilar course of epidemiological, epizootic, and phytototic processes in parasitic diseases in their various sectors. The major factors influencing the levels of the parasitic pollution of the Moscow megalopolis were analyzed. These included various lines of economic activities, the population's living conditions, procedures for manufacturing foodstuffs, demographic changes. In the recent years, the situation in many parasitic infections in man (trichinosis, cryptobiasis, enterobiasis, toxocariasis, etc.), animals (fascioliasis, trichinosis, etc.) and plants (viral, fungal, and nematode diseases). There is an increase in the population of mosquitos, lice, fleas, and other insects which are vectors of dangerous parasitic diseases of man and animals.

Cases of schistosomiasis (cercarial dermatitis) were recorded in humans in Moscow in 1991. The authors analyze the ecologic conditions conducive to dissemination of cercariasis in 17 natural and artificial water bodies of Moscow and the Moscow region. They point out that high contamination of the water bodies with organic communal wastes and an abundant overgrowth of macrophytes favor the development of molluscs, intermediate hosts of Schistosoma, and promote the increase of the populations thereof. High number of Lymnaea ovata, L. auticularia, L. stagnalis, Planorbarius corneus, P. planorbis, Anisus sp. were found invaded with Trichobilharzia ocellata (up to 50%) and Bilharziella polonica (as much as 10%). A lot of ducks, end hosts of Schistosoma, were found at all the examined water bodies. in 30% of the examined water bodies the risk of human infection was found high. Recommendations on cercariasis prevention are given.

The authors analyze the individual variability of the agent of scabies in populations on individual patients and in foci of the disease. They define an elementary micropopulation and a focal population notions. A total of 763 females, collected from the hands of 100 patients with scabies were examined. The findings evidence that the degree of the chetoid covering joining in the mite females, assessed in grades, may be regarded as an indicator of the population status in the pathologic process. Grades II and III females predominate in the mite population on the patients during the initial period of the disease (up to a month), whereas in the course of a full-bloom process (over a month) Grades I and 0 females prevail. The attendant exo- and endogenous factors shift the grade composition of the females towards the higher grades whatever the length of the disease. A great variety of the females in focal populations evidences reinfection and continuity of the process.

The variability of the naked section of the chaetoid cover of itch mite Sarcoptes scabiei De Geer females was studied. The sample used was divided into 5 grades by the number of undeveloped chaetoids. The structures surrounding the naked section, its size and dimensions of the female body were analysed in each grade of specimens. Such grade scale for describing the chaetoid cover proved to be useful for comparative analysis of human and animal forms of itch mite.

It should be noted that a total number of dysembryogenesis stigmas in an individual child must be taken into consideration in the formation of risk groups. Children with an increased number of stigmas (more than 7 in one child) are thought to be at high risk only of somatic pathology but also of the given helminthiasis and should be urgently examined for enterobiasis.

Cases of human gongylonemiasis (G. pulchrum) and dirofilariasis (D. repens) in Tula Province are reported. It is assumed that the source of infection is local as the patients haven't migrated anywhere outside the region during several years.

Feces samples received from 438 children, aged 1 month to 10 years, from Moscow who were admitted to hospital in June-August 1989 for acute intestinal disease, were examined for cryptosporidium oocysts. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 16 samples (8 boys and 8 girls), which accounted for 3.65%. The smears were stained by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen technique, concentration methods were not applied.