[Spread of infection with hepatitis B and C viruses in different population groups of north-western Ukraine].

The detection rate of specific markers of hepatitides B and C among the child and adult population, including 487 children in 5 boarding schools, 338 oncological, hematological, urological patients and 206 medical staff members in Rovno and the Rovno region (North-Western Ukraine), was determined. In boarding-school the markers of HB (HBsAg, anti-HBs, summary anti-HBc) were detected 3.5 times more often than among the child population in general (in 28.

[The risk of becoming infected with hepatitis B and C viruses in the pupils of children's boarding schools].

The risk of contamination of 487 inmates of 5 boarding schools at northwestern Ukraine with hepatitis B (HB) and hepatitis C (HC) viruses was analyzed and the role of some factors facilitating the spread of these infections among the inmates of such schools was shown. In 28.3 +/- 2.

[The current problems in the epidemiology and prevention of enteric viral hepatitis in Russia].

The presence of great differences in the activity of the epidemic process of hepatitis A (HA) in some regions of Russia is shown and the data necessary for establishing the structure of HA foci in groups of children, as well as the proportion of different forms of the disease registered in such foci (the icteric form in 22.7% of patients, the obliterated form in 11.3% of patients, the nonicteric form in 45.

[A trial of using immunoglobulins of known specificity for preventing hepatitis A in regions with high epidemic activity].

The economic effectiveness of immunoglobulin prophylaxis (IGP), carried out among children aged 1-3 at the beginning of a seasonal rise in hepatitis A (HA) morbidity with high coefficients of protection (80-85%), was directly related to the activity of the epidemic process. Preparations with sufficiently high content of antibodies to HA virus sharply decreased the manifestation of this infection. The detection rate of the manifest forms of the infection among children covered by prophylactic measures in the foci of HA was considerably lower than among children who had not received the preparation.

[Specific immunity in preschool children at high risk of infection with hepatitis A virus].

The dynamics of postinfection immunity to hepatitis A (HA) in preschool children was studied for 2 years in an area with a high activity of the epidemic process. In primary examinations by radioimmunoassay, anti-HAV were found in 82% of the subjects. The degree of the immunity intensity was found to be markedly variable: in 21% of the children the titre of anti-HAV was 1:10, in 28%-1:40, in 37%-1:160, in 14%-1:640.

[Multiyear and seasonal hepatitis A morbidity in different population age groups in certain areas].

At the areas with high activity of hepatitis A (HA) epidemic process the duration of epidemic cycles was shown to differ, the intervals between the peaks of morbidity increasing in older age groups. The beginning of seasonal rises exceeding the average annual HA morbidity level in different age groups was found to depend on the activity of the epidemic process. At the areas with the highest activity of the epidemic process children aged 1-2 years were the first to be affected by the seasonal rise of HA.

[Prophylactic efficacy of reaferon in viral hepatitis A and acute respiratory infections in children].

Reaferon, the analog of human alpha 2-interferon obtained by gene engineering techniques, was studied with a view to its use for the prevention of hepatitis A. The study involved children of preschool age in Tashkent. In a strictly controlled trial children aged 2-6 years received the preparation orally in a dose of 1 X 10(6) I.

[Effectiveness of annual booster inoculations against various influenza serotypes and the procedure for mass vaccination].

The epidemiological observation during an outbreak of A (H3N2) influenza in February-March, 1983, showed that the third annual vaccination with killed influenza vaccine did not enhance the effectiveness of vaccinations in the populations under study. It was observed that 14 months after immunization, 55.9% of the subjects examined had antibody titres of 1:40 or higher to the A/Bangkok/1/79 strain antigenically related to the vaccine strain, and 41% of the subjects of this group had antibodies to the subsequent drift variant of influenza A (H3N2) virus.

[Effect of multiple vaccination against influenza on the specificity of humoral immunity].

The influence of multiple vaccinations against influenza on humoral immunity specificity was studied by titration of sera from the vaccinees and non-vaccinees in radial hemolysis test (RHT). In order to determine the specificity of antihemagglutinins, the sera were adsorbed with the appropriate antigen followed by titration in RHT. The study showed the sera from vaccinees to contain the strain-specific antibody much more frequently, the titres and content being especially high to the vaccine A/Bangkok/1/79 strain used for large-scale vaccination of the human population in the three years preceeding the study.

[Immunomodulating action of levamisole in its combined use with influenza vaccines].

The immunomodulatory effect of levamisole used in combination with influenza vaccines was studied in young and senile subjects. Levamisole activated antibody production in young subjects in response to administration of a live influenza A (H3N2) vaccine and enhanced the protective effect of vaccinations. The senile subjects vaccinated with inactivated influenza A vaccine (H3N2 and H1N1) had a good immune response and the use of levamisole was not reflected in antibody rises.

[Immune structure of the population of Moscow to the strains of the influenza viruses A(H3N2), A(H1N1) and B circulating in 1977].

Examinations for the presence of antihemagglutinins to influenza A(H3N2), A(H1N1) and B virus strains in the sera from people of different ages collected in April-May and October-November, 1977, showed that influenza A(H1N1) virus began to circulate in the human population of Moscow before the onset of an overt epidemic, in the period between June and October, 1977. This conclusion has been drawn on the basis of the absence of antihemagglutinins to A(H1N1) virus in the sera from subjects of 16-20 years late in April and their detection in 25.9% of those examined on November 23, 1977.

Investigation of the incidence of influenza A viraemia caused by virus strains circulating among children in 1968 - 1977.

Nineteen strains of Type A influenza virus isolated from the blood of small children in 1968--77 were studied. The investigation of the strains in HAIR with antisera to the antigenic components of the strains in HAIR with antisera to the antigenic components of the strains A/Hong-Kong/68,A/Anglia/72, A/Port Chalmers/73 and A/Victoria/75 made it possible to demonstrate antigenic "drive" of the haemagglutinin in the years 1968--1977 and to divide the strains into 4 varieties. A high sensitivity to inhibitors was observed in all the strains isolated.

[Properties of influenza virus strains causing the influenza epidemic in Moscow in 1972-3].

The antigenic and some biological properties of influenza virus strains isolated during 1972-1973 epidemic were studied. Altogether 114 strains were isolated from sick infants of the first months of life beginning from neonatality. The strains under study were found to have high adaptation and elution activity, to be highly sensitive to inhibitors and to produce polymorphous allantoic population in the adaptation period.