[Antibacterial susceptibility/resistance of Vibrio cholerae eltor clinical strains isolated in the Caucasus during the seventh cholera pandemic].

The data on antibacterial susceptibility and resistance of Vibrio cholerae eltor phenotypes with different sets of the susceptibility or resistance markers conditioning the outbreaks and sporadic cases of cholera in the Caucasus within 1970-1998 are presented. An increase of the number of the Vibrio cholerae phenotypes resistant to tetracycline and chloramphenicol usually used in the treatment of cholera was recorded in 1990-1994 vs. 1970-1989. The El Tor cholera vibrios stored on synthetic media lost some of their resistance markers, therefore the retrospective investigation of the antibioticograms was only of approximate prognostic value in the choice of the drugs for the etiotropic treatment of cholera in view of possible outbreak of the disease.

[Comparative study of the diagnostic value of new cholera eltor bacteriophages ctx+, ctx-, and KhDF-3, 4, and 5]. / Sravnitel'noe izuchenoe diagnosticheskoi tsennosti novykh bakteriofagov kholernykh él'tor ctx+, ctx-, i KhDF-3, 4, 5]

The comparative evaluation of the diagnostic value of new cholera eltor bacteriophages ctx+ and ctx-, as well as monophages X[symbol: see text]-3, 4, 5, demonstrated their high activity and specificity. Using of these bacteriophages epidemic potential of 95% Vibrio cholerae eltor strains ctx+ and 84.5% of V. cholerae eltor stains ctx- was determined. Commercial monophages X[symbol: see text]-3, 4, 5 were inferior to bacteriophages ctx+ and ctx- in their diagnostic value: only 55% of strains having gene ctxAB were found to be epidemically dangerous, i.e. 45% of strains capable of causing the disease were not detected. On the basis of the results obtained in this investigation cholera eltor bacteriophages ctx+ and ctx- were recommended for introduction into practical use, while further production of cholera diagnostic monophages X[symbol: see text]-3, 4, 5 was recommended to be stopped.

[State of the natural foci of tularemia in the eastern part of the Northern Caucasian region]. / Sostoianie prirodnykh ochagov tuliaremii v vostochnoi chasti regiona Severnogo Kavkaza.

The short characterization of the territory, known to contain the natural foci of tularemia, in the eastern part of the foothill area of the Caucasus is presented. The Caspian plain-foothill focus and the Terek-Kuma focus were shown to be the most dangerous among these foci. The severe outbreak of tularemia took place in the Terek-Kuma focus in 1999. Local epizootic could be stopped here only after the appearance of patients with clinical manifestations of tularemia. The epizootological survey of the territory for tularemia in 3 natural foci of Daghestan and in the natural focus of the Caucasian foothill area is carried out in an insufficient volume due to the complicated socio-political situation in the Chechen Republic and the insufficient financial support of the work on the study of the foci.