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Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a substantial global health crisis, unparalleled in world history. Infection dynamics can have specific characteristics in different countries due to social, economic, climatic, or geographic factors. Aim: to study features of SARS-CoV-2 collective immunity among the Armenian population. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional, randomized study of collective immunity was carried out according to a program developed by Rospotrebnadzor and the St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute, taking into account WHO recommendations. The study was approved by the ethics committees of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (Armenia) and the St. Petersburg Pasteur Institute (Russia). A volunteer cohort was formed (N = 6057), randomized by age and region. The studys analysis included: shares and distributions of antibodies (Abs) to nucleocapsid (Nc) antigen (Ag) and receptor binding domain (RBD) S-1 Ag in the cohort; and quantitative determination of these Abs by ELISA. During the survey, a history of vaccination was indicated by 4395 people. Results. Overall seropositivity formed in the whole cohort (by April 14, 2022) was 98.6% (95% CI: 98.198.7). It did not depend on age, place of residence, or occupation. When quantifying Nc and RBD Abs, the proportions of volunteers with Nc Ab levels of 117 BAU/ml and RBD Ab levels of 22.6220 BAU/ml were the smallest, amounting to 6.9% (95% CI: 6.27.5) and 20.4% (95% CI: 19.421.4), respectively. With increasing serum concentrations (Nc 667 BAU/ml, RBD 450 BAU/ml), the proportions of individuals with the corresponding levels were 20.2% for Nc (95% CI: 19.221.3) and 54.2% for RBD (95% CI: 52.955.5). Vaccination coverage was 72.6% (95% CI: 71.573.7). The most frequently used were Sinopharm/BIBP (32.4%), AZD1222 (22.3%), and Gam-COVID-Vac (21%). The remaining vaccines (CoronaVac, mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, CoviVac) were used by 24.3% of vaccinated individuals. When summing vaccines by platform, it was found that: vector vaccines were used in 40.34% (95% CI: 33.5742.39) of cases; whole-virion vaccines were used in 26.83% (95% CI: 24.7632.20); and vector vaccines were used in 6.33% (95% CI: 4.848.91). Conclusion. The epidemic situation in Armenia by April 2022 was characterized by a high level of collective immunity, independent of age or regional factors. Vector and whole-virion vaccines have been used most widely.

Introduction. It is necessary to establish peculiarities and regularities of COVID-19 infection; this task requires further research on how to formalize and build spatial-temporal models of the infection spread. This article focuses on determining non-infectious factors that can modify the epidemic process caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus for further substantiation of integrated solutions that are necessary to ensure sanitary-epidemiological welfare of the RF population. Materials and methods. Our study involved analyzing regularities of regional differentiation in parameters introduced into mathematical models. These models described how the epidemic process developed in RF regions depending on modifying non-infectious factors identified by modelling the dynamics of spread of SARS-CoV-2 delta strain. These modifying factors included anti-epidemic activities; sanitary-epidemiological, sociodemographic, and economic conditions in a region; weather and climate; public healthcare systems and people’s lifestyles in RF regions over 2020-2021. The dynamics of the epidemic process was modelled by using the conventional SIR-model. Relationships between parameters introduced into the model of the epidemic process and modifying regional conditions were examined by using correlation-regression analysis. Results. The modelling made it possible to identify priority risk factors that modified COVID-19 spread authentically (p

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the 100th anniversary of the formation of the sanitary and epidemiological service of Russia and the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the hygienic society by F.F. Erisman. The purpose of the study is to give a historical analysis of the activities of the All-Russian Society of Hygienists and Sanitary Doctors. Materials and methods. Based on the principle of historicism, an expert and analytical study of the activities of the professional community of hygienists and sanitary doctors in 1892-2022 was carried out. The analysis used materials on the activities of prof. F.F. Erisman and the Moscow Hygienic Society under him, as well as the All-Union and All-Russian Congresses of Hygienists and Sanitary Doctors. Results. The main stages of the creation and development of the All-Russian Society of Hygienists, Toxicologists and Sanitary Doctors, the training of personnel for the sanitary service of the country, which celebrates 100 years since its foundation, are presented. The role of F.F. Erisman in the activities of the Moscow Hygienic Society and his students and followers in the work of the All-Union and All-Russian Society of Hygienists and Sanitary Doctors is traced. Limitations. The study is limited to studying the role of the All-Russian Society of Hygienists in ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being in the historical interval of 1892-2022. Conclusion. The congresses of the society of hygienists and sanitary doctors summarized, analyzed the results achieved, discussed scientific problems and ways to solve them, mobilized their members to solve them. The positive activity of the society of hygienists and sanitary doctors is due to the active work of its members in ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population of the Russian Federation.

Introduction. The development of SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic creates certain analytical challenges with respect to both examining the spread of the disease itself and investigating reasons and regularities in the epidemic propagation under different conditions. This article dwells on the least examined issue related to the necessity to establish peculiarities and reasons for occurring differences in the coronavirus infection spread in RF regions with different socioeconomic and social-hygienic status. This is necessary for substantiating relevant actions, which are to compensate for preventable modifying influence exerted by environmental factors and lifestyle-related ones. Materials and methods. The study involved analyzing regularities in regional differentiation of parameters in a classic SIR model describing the epidemic process in RF regions. We analyzed data on more than two hundred fifty various indicators describing levels of infection, vaccination, hospital admission and mortality among population collected in 85 RF regions in 2020-2021. All the data were taken as average values over a week. Results. We assessed parameters of mathematical models for RF regions. The assessments gave grounds for analyzing peculiar development of the epidemic process and for detecting basic regularities in the territorial distribution of parameters describing rates of infection, recovery and mortality rate and the basic reproductive number for SARS-COV-2 virus. Limitations. The results are limited by data aggregation performed only at a regional level and a simplified model of the developing epidemic process applied in the present study. Another limitation is insufficient coverage of environmental factors reflecting peculiarities in the infection spread. The latter is considered a promising trend in future research. Conclusion. The study made it possible to trace basic peculiarities and regularities in the spread of the disease and to spot out regions where the epidemic process was the most acute and accompanied with the highest burdens on regional social security services. These trends and regularities indicate to the occurring regional differentiation detected at various stages in the development of epidemic process of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spread due to the Delta strain caused by complex interactions and influence exerted by modifying factors creating a certain multi-level and multi-component structure.

The article discusses the main aspects of the draft “Concept for the implementation distant control/monitoring forms of sanitary requirements compliance (remote/contactless supervision).” The project document was developed according to the “National Action Plan Ensuring the Recovery of Employment and Incomes of the Population, Economic Growth and Long-Term Structural Changes in the Economic” control in the Russian Federation”. It has been determined that introducing remote forms of supervision is the general improvement of the state control system with a general decrease in the administrative burden on business entities. The task is also to identify the negative trends in the activities of organizations at the earliest possible stages and adopt proactive state response measures to violations of the law. The concept establishes that the critical difference between remote control and contact, face-to-face forms is the most full use and science-intensive processing of data accumulated in the information field about the activity of the economic unit. The information field is formed by departmental databases collected in the Unified Information System of Rospotrebnadzor (EIAS) and external state, municipal and other databases. An analysis is carried out through remote access to information. The remote control also implies a gradual, but significant expansion of the hardware use for fixing objects and processes status (audio-photo-video tools, sensors for measuring object parameters, etc.).An intelligent information system provides information and analytical support for the entire cycle of actions provided for by the regulations for conducting remote control and supervision activities. The system focuses on identifying evidence of violation or compliance with sanitary legislation based on the study of transmitted information. The functioning of an intelligent system involves the modern methods of machine processing of big data (Big Data), including elements of artificial intelligence based on machine learning of artificial neural networks, etc. The data generated in the system is sent to the shared storage of the EIAS for the combined processing data from remote and contact supervision and systemic complex analysis with the involvement of data from social and hygienic monitoring and other departments. The phased introduction of distant control in the activities of the service requires the improvement of the regulatory, methodological, material, and technical base, as well as the human resources development in the direction, increasing the computer literacy of expert specialists, persons responsible for maintaining the information system, its administration, and ensuring uninterrupted operation. It is shown that the effectiveness of the distant control implementation with the use of information and analytical approach can reduce from 15 to 60% time for one scheduled inspection, decrease the labour costs of inspectors and specialists of supervised facilities, expanding the number of inspected objects. Contribution: Popova A.Yu. — the research concept, editing; Zaitseva N.V. — the research design, writing the text; May I.V. — design of the study, processing of the material, writing the text; Kiryanov D.A. — processing of the material, writing the text; Kolesnik P.A. — processing of the material. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Acknowledgement. The study had no sponsorship. Received: August 17, 2021 / Accepted: September 28, 2021 / Published: October 31, 2021

In 2021, a patient died from Marburg virus (MARV) disease in Guinea and it was the first confirmed case in West Africa. The origin of the outbreak has not been identified. It was revealed that the patient didn’t travel anywhere before the illness. Prior to outbreak, MARV had been found in bats in the neighboring Sierra Leone, but never in Guinea. Therefore, the origin of infection is unclear: was it an autochthonous case with spillover from a local population of bats or an imported case with spillover from fruit bats foraging/migrating from Sierra Leone? In this paper, we studied Rousettus aegyptiacus in Guinea as the possible source of MARV infection caused the patient death in 2021 in Guinea. We caught bats in 32 sites of Guéckédou prefecture, including seven caves and 25 locations of the flight path. A total of 501 fruit bats (Pteropodidae) were captured, including 66 R. aegyptiacus. The PCR screening showed three positive MARV R. aegyptiacus, roosting in two caves discovered in Guéckédou prefecture. After Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analyses it was shown that found MARV belongs to the Angola-like lineage but it is not identical to the isolate obtained during the outbreak of 2021.

Genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 isolates circulating in the Republic of Guinea in May and June 2020, as well as in March 2021, has been demonstrated using fragment (S gene) and whole genome sequencing of 14 strains. Analysis of nucleotide sequences and phylogenetic constructs make it possible to divide the studied strains into 3 groups. Comparison of the obtained data with the already available epidemiological data proves the initial importation of COVID-19 from Western European countries, and also demonstrates four independent import routes in two time periods (March 2020 and no later than March 2021).

In 2013-2016, a large-scale Ebola virus diseas (EVD) outbreak hit the countries of West Africa for the first time. Thus provoking a health crisis. The most affected countries were Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Republic of Guinea. Since the end of the outbreak in 2016, there have been no new cases until recently. In February 2021, the Republic of Guinea announced about laboratory-confirmed EVD cases in its territory.By April 12, 2021, an Ebola virus disease outbreak in the province of N’Zerekore (Gueke sub-prefecture) of the Republic of Guinea had affected 16 people, 9 of whom had died. The origin of this outbreak is still unknown. This paper considers various hypotheses of its emergence. Within the frames of the study sequencing and analysis of the whole genome sequence of the strain that initiated the epidemic process have been carried out. The most likely cause of this outbreak, according to the results obtained, should be deemed a long-term persistence of the virus in the body of survivors, followed by a relapse of the disease and transmission among contact persons.

AIM: The strength of species interactions is traditionally expected to increase toward the Equator. However, recent studies have reported opposite or inconsistent latitudinal trends in the bottom-up (plant quality) and top-down (natural enemies) forces driving herbivory. In addition, these forces have rarely been studied together thus limiting previous attempts to understand the effect of large-scale climatic gradients on herbivory. LOCATION: Europe. TIME PERIOD: 2018–2019. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED: Quercus robur. METHODS: We simultaneously tested for latitudinal variation in plant–herbivore–natural enemy interactions. We further investigated the underlying climatic factors associated with variation in herbivory, leaf chemistry and attack rates in Quercus robur across its complete latitudinal range in Europe. We quantified insect leaf damage and the incidence of specialist herbivores as well as leaf chemistry and bird attack rates on dummy caterpillars on 261 oak trees. RESULTS: Climatic factors rather than latitude per se were the best predictors of the large-scale (geographical) variation in the incidence of gall-inducers and leaf-miners as well as in leaf nutritional content. However, leaf damage, plant chemical defences (leaf phenolics) and bird attack rates were not influenced by climatic factors or latitude. The incidence of leaf-miners increased with increasing concentrations of hydrolysable tannins, whereas the incidence of gall-inducers increased with increasing leaf soluble sugar concentration and decreased with increasing leaf C : N ratios and lignins. However, leaf traits and bird attack rates did not vary with leaf damage. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: These findings help to refine our understanding of the bottom-up and top-down mechanisms driving geographical variation in plant–herbivore interactions, and indicate the need for further examination of the drivers of herbivory on trees. This study was carried out with financial support from the French National Research Agency (ANR) in the frame of the Investments for the Future Programme, within the Cluster of Excellence COTE (Continental To coastal Ecosystems: evolution, adaptability and governance) (ANR-10-LABX-45). E.V.C. was funded by the BiodivERsA (BiodivERsA is a network of national and regional funding organisations promoting pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and offering innovative opportunities for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity) project SPONFOREST (Unraveling the potential of spontaneous forest establishment for improving ecosystem functions and services in dynamic landscapes) (BiodivERsA3-2015-58). info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Kindia tick virus (KITV) is a novel multicomponent virus first detected by direct sequencing of Rhipicephalus geigyi ticks in Guinea in 2017. Here, we present a complete coding genome sequence for all four segments of KITV/2017/1. This virus appears to be evolutionarily related to unclassified flaviviruses, such as Alongshan virus.