[Use of RT-PCR and enzyme immunoassays for the specific diagnosis of Crimean hemorrhagic fever].

The objective of the investigation was to evaluate the efficiency of the RT-PCR kit "AmplySens CHF" produced by InterlabService of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology and that of the ELISA kits made by the D. I. Ivanovsky Research Institute of Virology for the specific diagnosis of Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CHF).

[Molecular virological monitoring of Newcastle disease virus strains (Paramyxoviridae, Avulavirus) in the populations of wild birds in the Volga estuary (the 2001 data)].

The paper analyzes the results of isolation of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains from 336 swaps of 31 wild bird species collected in the 2001 summer in the Volga estuary (Astrakhan Region). Twenty-seven NDV strains were isolated from little terns (Sterna albifrons) (n=11; infection rate, 24.4%), great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) (n=6; 11.

[Highly pathogenic influenza A/H5N1 virus-caused epizooty among mute swans (Cygnus olor) in the lower estuary of the Volga River (November 2005)].

Molecular virological studies of the field material collected in the epicenter of epizooty with high mortality among mute swans (Cygnus olor) in the area of the lower estuary of the Volga River (November 2005) could establish the etiological role of highly pathogenic influenza A (HPAI) virus of the subtype H5N1. Ten HPAI/H5N1 strains deposited at the State Collection of Viruses of the Russian Federation with the priority dated December 1, 2005 were isolated from the cloacal/tracheal swabs and viscera of sick and freshly died mute swans. Complete nucleotide sequences of all fragments of the genome of 6 strains have been deposited in the Gene Bank.

[West Nile virus infection of agricultural animals in the Astrakhan region, as evidenced by the 2001-2004 serological surveys].

Sera sampled from 2,884 farming animals in the Astrakhan region in 2001 to 2004 were investigated by the hemagglutination inhibition test (HIT) in order to indicate specific antibodies to West Nile virus (WNV). HIT-positive samples were investigated by the neutralization test (NT). WNV antibodies were detected in all the examined species of animals: horses (the proportion of positive tests throughout the observation averaged 9.