[Topical issues of biological safety under current conditions. Part 3. Scientific provision for the national regulation of the biological safety framework in its broad interpretation].

Consequent of investigation concerned with biological safety (BS) framework development in its broad interpretation, reflected in the Russian Federation State Acts, identified have been conceptual entity parameters of the up-to-date broad interpretation of BS, which have formed a part of the developed by the authors system for surveillance (prophylaxis, localization, indication, identification, and diagnostics) and control (prophylaxis, localization, and response/elimination) over the emergency situations of biological (sanitary-epidemiological) character. The System functionality is activated through supplying the content with information data which are concerned with monitoring and control of specific internal and external threats in the sphere of BS provision fixed in the Supplement 2 of the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), and with the previously characterized nomenclature of hazardous biological factors. The system is designed as a network-based research-and-practice tool for evaluation of the situation in the sphere of BS provision, as well as assessment of efficacy of management decision making as regards BS control and proper State policy implementation. Most of the system elements either directly or indirectly relate to the scope of activities conducted by Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare, being substantial argument for allocating coordination functions in the sphere of BS provision to this government agency and consistent with its function as the State Coordinator on IHR (2005). The data collected serve as materials to Draft Federal Law "Concerning biological safety provision of the population".

[Assessment of epidemic manifestations of the West Nile fever in the Volgograd region depending on the climatic conditions].

Results of the analysis of the increase in the incidence of epidemic of the West Nile fever and climate conditions in the Volgograd region were presented. Certain seasonal periods and threshold values of temperature and humidity statistically associated with the epidemic rise were identified. The discussion of the probable mechanisms of indirect effects of atmospheric heat on the elements of the epidemic process was carried out.

[Information technologies in epidemiological control of natural-focal infectious diseases].

An approach to increase effectiveness of epidemiological control of Crimean hemorrhagic fever, West Nile fever and Astrakhan spotted fever by building a prognostic model of epidemic activity based on contemporary information technologies of spatial and intellectual data analysis was developed and tested. Personified data on 4505 laboratory confirmed cases of natural-focal infectious diseases registered in the Russian Federation and database on 1999 - 2011 climatic observations were processed. A model implementing prognosis of epidemiological situation intensity level as a function of a combination of factors, maps of density of epidemic manifestations were built. On a practical example high effectiveness of the approach to epidemiological analysis based on the use of contemporary analytical technologies for evaluation of temporal and spatial categories of epidemiological risk was demonstrated.

[Conceptual bases of biological safety. Part 1].

Up to date there is a narrow and broad interpretation of the term biological safety (BS) the world over. In the narrow sense it is defined as availability of international regulations applied to diagnostic, manufacturing, or experimental works with pathogenic biological agents (PBA) in accordance with specified levels of biological hazard and BS. In a broader context it has no national, conceptual, terminological or defying basis. Therewith, establishment of this framework has become the core issue of the study. Investigations have revealed that BS should conceptually cover the whole sphere of sanitary-and-epidemiological welfare as well as related fields such as veterinary-sanitary, phytosanitary provision, ecological safety, environmental conditions (occupational, socio-economic and geopolitical infrastructures, ecological system), and be exercised to prevent and control emergency situations (ES) of biological character. It is demonstrated that this type of ES differs from ES in the sphere of public health care of international concern which is formalized in IHR (2005), in the way that it is characterized by high socio-economic and geopolitical significance of the negative influence on human vital activities, comparable with national and international security hazard. Elaborated is the conceptual, terminological and defying toolkit of the BS broad interpretation (27 terms).

[Topical issues of biological safety under current conditions. Part 2. Conceptual, terminological, and definitive framework of biological safety].

In accordance with the established conceptual base for the up-to-date broad interpretation of biological safety, and IHR (2005), developed is the notional, terminological, and definitive framework, comprising 33 elements. Key item of the nomenclature is the biological safety that is identified as population safety (individual, social, national) from direct and (or) human environment mediated (occupational, socio-economic, geopolitical infrastructures, ecological system) exposures to hazardous biological factors. Ultimate objective of the biological safety provision is to prevent and liquidate aftermaths of emergency situations of biological character either of natural or human origin (anthropogenic) arising from direct and indirect impact of the biological threats to the public health compatible with national and international security hazard. Elaborated terminological framework allows for the construction of self-sufficient semantic content for biological safety provision, subject to formalization in legislative, normative and methodological respects and indicative of improvement as regards organizational and structural-functional groundwork of the Russian Federation National chemical and biological safety system, which is to become topical issue of Part 3.

[Reasons of low epizootic activity of natural foci of plague in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century].

AIM: Establish the main reasons of low epizootic activity of natural foci of plague in Russian Federation in 2000-2009. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multiyear data on the number of isolated Yersinia pestis strains, area of detected epizootic sites, amounts of the field material studied for plague were used to evaluate annual activity of natural foci. RESULTS: In the current decade mountain and high-mountain natural foci of plague were characterized by constant high epizootic activity. In plains and low-mountain natural foci a low periodic epizootic activity was noticed, a development of intra-epizootic periods. A conditioning role of helioclimatic factors on the status of parasitic systems and epizootic activity of natural foci of plague was noticed. CONCLUSION: The warming of climate in 1990-2007 was the main reason for low epizootic activity of plains natural foci of plague in Russia. In the contemporary conditions of a recurrent cooling (from 2008) and an increase of humidity in the Northern, North-Western pre-Caspian and pre-Caucasus territories, a new significant activation of them is predicted there with a peak in 2017-2019.

[The phenomenon of large-area asynchronism in epizootic manifestations of plague and the optimization of the epidemiological surveillance of this infection in the northwestern Caspian Sea region]. / O iavlenii krupnoterritorial'noi nesinkhronnosti épizooticheskikh proiavlenii chumy i optimizatsii épidemiologicheskogo nadzora za étoi infektsiei v Severo-zapadnom Prikaspii.

The studies were undertaken in the northwestern Caspian Sea region, the European part of Russia, which is noted for high plague epidemic rates. An analysis of many-year data from the plague institutions has established a unique phenomenon which is characterized by asynchronous epizootic functioning of 2 large-scale sandy and steppe foci undivided by physical borders. Great possibilities of differential prophylactic measures and optimization of plaque epidemiological surveillance, which are the basis for predicting the epizootic and epidemiological situation with higher confidence by applying various tactic and methodological techniques, efforts, and facilities on a substantiated bases through its implementation are associated with the phenomenon of large-area asynchronism.

[The cholera epidemic in mountainous regions of Dagestan in relation to the probable role of the water factor in its spread]. / Epidemiia kholery v nekotorykh gornykh raionakh Dagestana v sviazi s veroiatnoi rol'iu vodnogo faktora v ee rasprostranenii.

The follow-up of dynamics of cholera epidemic in 1994 was made in 4 mountain regions of Daghestan with shared river system. There were 537 infection cases in these regions, which was equal to 1/4 from the total number of cholera patients in Daghestan. The probability of cholera distribution by water way has been shown, which can be related to massive dissemination with V. cholerae in river, drink and waste water both from active, and from local (intrahospital) epidemic sources. Vibrio's exit from cholera hospital became possible after dissemination intrahospital V. cholerae of waste water, after contamination of river water and after formation of secondary sources and cholera waves, which resulted in the prolongation up to 40 days of this infection in mountain regions of Daghestan.