[Insecticidal and immunosuppressive effect of ascomycete Cordyceps militaris on the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata].

The immunosuppressive and insecticidal activity of cultures of the entomopathogenic fungus Cordyceps militaris on the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata has been established for the first time. It was found that the peroral effect of the fungal culture resulted in dose-dependent decrease in survival, delayed in development time and molting, decreases in the total hemocyt counts, increased activity of phenoloxidases in the hemolymph, and reduced activity of the enzyme in the cuticle, as well as increased sensitivity of larvae to the fungus Beauveria bassiana at the level of the synergistic effect.

[Synergistic action of entomopathogenic hyphomycetes and the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. morrisoni in the infection of Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata].

A synchronous coinfection of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) with the entomopathogenic bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. morrisoni Bonnifoi & de Barjak var. tenebrionis Krieg et al. and hyphomycete Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorokin or Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill leads to the rapid death of 95-100% of larvae. The bacteria arrest the nutrition of insects, while the fungal spores kill the weakened larvae. The synergistic effect of two pathogens is recorded at a relatively low hyphomycete titer (1-5 x 10(6) conidia/ml) and is evident in the mortality dynamics at all larval ages. These bacterial and fungal pathogens display no antagonism on artificial nutrient media. This microbial complex is highly efficient under natural conditions (80-90% larval mortality rate and no plant defoliation).

[A comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of methods for serological sampling examinations]. / Sravnitel'naia otsenka éffektivnost' nekotorykh metodov vyborochnykh serologicheskikh obsledovanii.

Blood serum samples of 3,448 schoolchildren of grades 1-10 in 35 schools of Dushanbe were examined in the passive hemagglutination test in 1988 and 1989. The proportion of persons unprotected against diphtheria and tetanus was estimated by common methods in different kinds of selective serologic survey: mass screening (43.4-83.0%), testing in selected groups reduced 2, 3 and 5 times, cluster sampling. The reduction of the groups to be examined (from 3,033 to 250 persons) was not accompanied by essential changes (t < 2) in the characteristics of mass immunity against diphtheria and tetanus. The cluster method was shown to be highly reliable also in the study of population immunity.

[Epidemiologic surveillance of diphtheria and measles]. / Epidemiologicheskii nadzor za difteriei i kor'iu.

The epidemiological surveillance of diphtheria and measles makes it possible to evaluate the actual coverage of different groups of population with immunization and the state of this protection, to determine the tendencies of the epidemic processes of the afore-mentioned infections, to assess the efficacy of prophylactic and antiepidemic measures, and to develop well-grounded recommendations aimed at preventing the formation of foci of group infections and the lethal outcomes of diphtheria and measles.

[Study of the reasons for a decrease in the inoculability of diphtheria bacteria]. / Izuchenie prichin snizheniia vysevaemosti difteriinykh bakterii

It was shown that the seeding efficacy of diphtheria bacilli depended not only on the state of the epidemic process, but also on the correct methodical approach to the examination. A combination of the qualitative and epidemiological choice of the groups of population for bacteriological examination with the use of blood tellurite media permitted to increase the efficacy of investigations, with a considerable reduction of the number of analyses.