[The prospects for using the genetically engineered surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus (HBsAg) expressed by recombinant poxvirus strains as the basis for vaccines against hepatitis B]. / Perspektivy ispol'zovaniia genno-inzhenernogo poverkhnostnogo antigena virusa gepatitia B (HBsAg), ekspressiruemogo rekombinantnymi shtammami poksvirusov, v kachestve osnovy vaktsin protiv gepatita B.

The use of a recombinant poxvirus (RPV) strain, expressing HBsAg in the process of reproduction in different bioreactor systems under stationary and bioreactor conditions of cultivation, made it possible to obtain highly purified HBsAg. The identity and purity of HBsAg was confirmed by the analysis of its amino acid composition, SDS electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel, electron microscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography. Good prospects of the use of RPV-expressed gene engineering HBsAg as the basis vaccines against hepatitis B was demonstrated in 10 experimental batches of vaccine. All batches of the preparation had pronounced immunogenicity and were safe and nontoxic in animal experiments. The ID50 of experimental batches did not exceed 211 ng/ml, which, according to the data of comparative experiments, was lower than, or equal to, corresponding values of analogous foreign commercial preparations, based on plasma or yeast HBsAg.

[The morbidity and immunological structure of the population in viral hepatitis A at different phases in the development of multiyear epidemic cycles]. / Zabolevaemost' i immunologicheskaia struktura naseleniia pri virusnom gepatite A v raznye fazy razvitiia mnogoletnikh épidemicheskikh tsiklov.

For the first time population immunity to virus hepatitis A has been studied during three different phases of prolonged morbidity cycles of this infection, and the results of this study have been compared with the data on morbidity in different age groups. Pronounced variability of the immunological structure of the population in different age groups, found to be related to the dynamics of hepatitis A morbidity, has been established. Fluctuations in immunity level are most pronounced among children aged 1-6 and 7-14 years, having the least proportion of seropositive persons. A new epidemic cycle is started among these groups of the population, and at the first stage this cycle is manifested by an increase in the intensity of the latently developing epidemic process. This is followed by the activation of registered morbidity among the whole of the population. Seroepidemiological study may be used both for prognostication purposes and in the system of surveillance on this infection.