Current problems of the epidemiological surveillance of poliomyelitis

A uniform program of the epidemiological supervision of poliomyelitis must be worked out for every administrative territorial unit. This program should include the early and complete detection of all cases of this infection, irrespective of their severity; the analysis of the quality of vaccination; the determination of the immune status of the child population; the characteristic of the poliovirus circulation.     

Immunoprophylaxis of poliomyelitis in Ukraine with the use of inactivated vaccine

In connection with the cessation of the circulation of "wild" poliovirus on the territory of the European region, including Ukraine, the strategy of the vaccinal prophylaxis of poliomyelitis is reviewed. Its main aims are the creation of a high level of the specific protection of the population, the prophylaxis of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis and a decrease in the intensity of the circulation vaccine polioviruses. These aims may be achieved only by the inclusion of vaccinations with inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine (IPV) into the immunization schedule. IPV "Imovax Polio" produced by the firm "Aventis Pasteur" (France) has been shown to have low reactogenicity and high effectiveness, especially with respect to type 3 poliovirus, under the conditions of Ukraine. On the basis of our studies all children, starting from the age of 3 months, are recommended to be vaccinated first with two injections of IPV, followed by further immunization with oral vaccine.     

Birth defects surveillance in Ukraine: a process

Birth defects (BD) surveillance using international standards was introduced in Ukraine by a network of five BD centers located in northwestern, central and southern regions. BD centers provide resources to access current and comprehensive information and to nurture partnerships with physicians, administrators, parental support groups, educators, and humanitarian assistance organizations. One outcome was the vigorous and popular website International BD Information Systems (IBIS). The network is now incorporated as OMNI-Net Ukraine. The program has documented high prevalence rates of neural tube defects (NTD); fetal alcohol effects (FAE); and idiopathic developmental retardation among orphans that prompted prevention and amelioration initiatives. Further program objectives include: universal folic acid flour fortification, as recommended by the Ukrainian Academy of Medicine; continued research on methods to reduce FAE in collaboration with partners from California; opening other early infant stimulation centers funded by local authorities, modeled on those in Rivne and Lutsk; and linking BD prevention with bioethical considerations, which is a topic of interest in Ukraine in part enhanced by the effects of Chornobyl.     

The bases of epidemiological surveillance for postinjection complications

To carry out the epidemiological analysis of postinjection suppurations and to introduce the relevant prophylactic measures, the forms of registration and account for suppurative inflammatory diseases should be legitimized and the data on such cases per the number of injections made at therapeutic and prophylactic institutions and their branches should be calculated. The organization of centralized sterilization of instruments and the 100% provision of all institutions with these instruments can reduce the occurrence of postinjection suppurations.     

Current epidemiological surveillance of tuberculosis

Some present-day specific epidemiological, microbiological and clinical features of tuberculosis are presented. A variant of the epidemiological surveillance morbidity scheme, comprising 3 blocks, viz. information, analysis and management, is proposed. In the information block the basic data necessary for epidemic analysis is listed, while the diagnostic block contains the stage-by-stage analysis of the information block data. In the block of management decisions the main directions of the tuberculosis prophylaxis interventions are listed.     

Epidemiological surveillance and control of poliomyelitis in the Republic of Cuba

Organization and performance of Poliomyelitis Epidemiological Surveillance and control in Cuba are described. Since the first vaccination campaign the average of vaccinated population is of 90% and over. Annual and cyclic epidemic peaks disappeared after oral polio vaccination. During 20 years only 7 sporadic cases were diagnosed; the last one in 1979. Surveillance of disease and immunity of infant population was carried out by clinical examination, isolation techniques for Polio and other enteroviruses and by testing neutralizing antibodies in 0-4 years of age population samples from 1963 to 1979. Satisfactory high antibody levels have been maintained up to date after using different combinations of Polio viruses in vaccines and by having regulated the dose intervals. Subsequent virologic investigation in children under age 3, from nurseries of several provincial capitals, leads us to think that there is no Poliovirus circulation in the country. Behavior of the disease and the laboratory finding indicators reveal very successful results in Poliomyelitis elimination programmes.     

Excess mortality--influenza epidemiological surveillance indicator

Observations on "excess mortality" from influenza, carried out in the Moldavia area between 1957 and 1973, are presented in the paper. They made it possible to assess in time and space as well as in severity the knowledge on influenza epidemics. "Excess mortality" proved to be a valuable indicator of increase in influenza mortality, especially, on the occurrence of big epidemics the existence of which was closely related to the appearance of new types and variants of influenza viruses. Though "excess mortality" showed the highest values when death from acute pneumopathies recorded in the preepidemic and postepidemic periods was included in the calculation, it also pointed to the strong effect of influenza on all causes of death, especially chronic diseases of the respiratory and cardio-vascular systems.     

Erroneous information in the epidemiological surveillance of hepatitis B

False positive results obtained in the determination of the immune markers of hepatitis A by the methods of the passive reverse hemagglutination test and the enzyme immunoassay distort the course of the registration of the epidemic process and deteriorate the quality of the antiepidemic measures ensured to the population. The necessity of the standardization of available test systems is postulated.     

Criteria of the epidemiological surveillance of meningococcal infection

The results of studies carried out with the use of the unified, specially developed methods in eight regions of the USSR are generalized. Basing on the analysis of the results, the leading role of serogroup A meningococci in the rise of morbidity is emphasized, the relation of the morbidity level to the serogroup composition of meningococci circulating among healthy population is revealed, the necessity of carrying out selective bacteriological surveys with a view to establish the serogroups of meningococci circulating among the population is shown. The expedient criteria to be used in the system of epidemiological surveillance of meningococcal infection are presented.     

The principles of pre-epidemic diagnosis in the epidemiological surveillance system for HIV infection

The problem of the general introduction of the principles of the pre-epidemic diagnostics of HIV infection was discussed. These principles should be based on the observation of "model" infections (viral hepatitides B, C, D), multipurpose serological monitoring and sociological methods aimed at obtaining the necessary information. The suggestion that the age and sexual structure of HIV-infected patients would be determined by the route of HIV transmission, prevailing on a given territory, including into infection process adolescents and young women and men was made.     

The organization of an epidemiological surveillance of HIV infection in Krasnodar Territory

For the first time a case of AIDS was detected in the Krasnodar Territory of the USSR, and the presence of HIV infection in homosexuals, foreign students, and promiscuous persons was established. To study the spread of HIV infection, 5 diagnostic laboratories were created and 5 routes for the transportation of sera were organized. This permitted the screening of the population in 1988 with the complete coverage of groups to be placed under surveillance.     

The genetic aspects of phylogeny in the brown Carpathian cattle of Ukraine]

The results of studies of special features of the genetic structures of grey-brown Carpathian cattle in its ecological recess are presented. The immunogenetic resemblance and distance between related and unrelated breeds of grey-brown Carpathian cattle were calculated. It was found, that grey-brown Carpathian cattle were genetically most similar to Swiss (r = 0.9067) and unsimilar to Herefords (r = 0.7457). It was shown, that the grey-brown Carpathian cattle had unique traits of the genetic structures for B-system of erythrocyte antigens.     

Assessment of the separate elements of an epidemiological overview of poliomyelitis today

The materials on the epidemiological supervision of poliomyelitis in a large city, carried out in 1972-1981, are presented. Two periods differing in morbidity rate, in the level of population immunity to poliomyelitis and in the activity of the poliovirus circulation are defined. The supervision of poliomyelitis is shown to be capable of influencing the course of the epidemic process of this infection provided that the individual elements of such supervision are correctly evaluated in different epidemic situations.     

Means of optimizing the epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases in the USSR

The present work shows the specific features of the epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, carried out by the All-Union Centers of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology (sponsored by the Ministry of Health of the USSR) in different regions of the USSR with due consideration of the specific features of each disease.     

Complex method for epizootiological and epidemiological surveillance

A complex method for the epizootological and epidemiological surveillance of a number of bacterial and viral infections on the territories inside and outside their natural foci has been developed. The investigation techniques are described and the data on the isolation rate of each causative agent in different geographical zones are presented. In the natural foci of plague and tularemia, as well as on the territories outside such foci, the causative agents of intestinal yersiniosis, pseudotuberculosis, salmonellosis, erysipeloid, staphylococci and streptococci, arena- and arboviruses have been isolated from the rodents and ectoparasites under study. The results of this investigation suggest that the method may be recommended for use in medical institutions dealing with the problems of infections originating from natural foci.     

The system of epidemiological surveillance as a reflection of the structure of the epidemic process

The socio-ecological concept in epidemiology, formulated by the author in his earlier works and regarding the epidemic process as a biosocial hierarchical, integral system, can serve as a theoretical basis for the epidemiological surveillance of infectious and parasitic diseases. In accordance with the structure of the epidemic process, the system of epidemiological surveillance is subdivided into the following monitoring levels: molecular, microbiological, clinical, biocenological, statistical and sociological. The functions of epidemiological surveillance should be performed by the existing and newly organized All-Union Centers for the corresponding nosological forms.