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Introduction. Given the unfavorable epidemic situation with chickenpox and shingles in Russia, there is a high risk of virus introduction and spread in healthcare settings, including among medical staff who are not immune to varicella zoster virus (VZV). The objective of this study is to assess the immunity of employees of a multidisciplinary hospital in Moscow to VZV. Materials and methods. A selective screening study was carried out. Venous blood serum samples were taken from 1546 hospital employees as material for detection of IgG antibodies to VZV antigens using a commercial solid-phase enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) test system "Vecto VZV-IgG". All employees were questioned to obtain information about their infectious and vaccine history in relation to VZV. Results and discussion. Screening for antibodies to VZV in the hospital workers revealed that 6.3% of those workers are not immune to VZV. The proportion of seronegative individuals was the highest (12.6 ± 2.4%) in the age group of 29 years and younger. VZV seronegative healthcare workers were found in various departments, but the presence of non-immune individuals among the staff of the obstetrics and gynecology departments (6.5%) is of epidemiologic concern. The results of the survey showed that documented data on infection and vaccination history cannot be used to assess the protection of healthcare workers against VZV infection. Conclusion. The results of serologic screening for antibodies to VZV made it possible to identify a significant number of susceptible employees of the multidisciplinary hospital. In order to prevent the formation of multiple epidemic foci of varicella in medical organizations, it is advisable to include anti-VZV testing of medical staff in the state prevention programs with subsequent vaccination of non-immune individuals.

Introduction. In Russia, the approved morbidity statistics system is represented by the International Classification of Diseases of the 10th revision (ICD-10). This classification provides two forms of dengue fever (DF): dengue fever (A90) and hemorrhagic dengue (A91). Official statistics on the ratio of forms of DF is not published in open sources and this lack of information about the real ratio of the forms of DF makes it difficult to objectively assess the factors that determine the severity of this disease. The aim: compare the clinical and epidemiological features of dengue fever and hemorrhagic dengue fever in patients hospitalized in 20092019 to the City Infectious Clinical Hospital No. 1, Moscow. Materials and methods. A retrospective cohort study. We analyzed the patient database and reviewed 391 medical records of patients with diagnosed dengue fever. We compared gender, age characteristics, travel geography including information about previous visits of patients to endemic regions and dengue virus serotype. To determine the primary and re-infection rate, an analysis of IgG for the dengue virus was carried out on days 15 of the disease. To compare indicators, 95% confidence intervals for proportions, medians, and interquartile ranges were calculated. The significance of differences between independent samples for assessing qualitative characteristics was carried out using the criteria 2, the odds ratio. To assess the quantitative characteristics, the Mann-Whitney test was used. Differences were considered statistically significant at p 0.05. Results. The proportion of patients with dengue fever was 14.9% of all hospitalized with febrile illnesses that developed after international travel. Hemorrhagic dengue fever (DHF) was diagnosed in 15.7% of patients with dengue fever. DHF developed significantly more often in women, as well as in those who had history of repeated visits to endemic regions. However, DHF was also diagnosed in 10.9% of first-time travelers to tropical countries. We did not find significant differences in the rates of DHF development depending on age and dengue virus serotype. In a number of patients who had not previously traveled to endemic regions, IgG to the dengue virus were detected, which may indicate a previous infection with related flaviviruses. Conclusion. It has been established that in the regions most visited by Russians, there is a circulation of all serotypes of the dengue virus with an annual change in the predominant serotype.

An excessive inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 is thought to be a major cause of disease severity and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Longitudinal analysis of cytokine release can expand our understanding of the initial stages of disease development and help to identify early markers serving as predictors of disease severity. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of 46 cytokines (including chemokines and growth factors) in the peripheral blood of a large cohort of COVID-19 patients (n=444). The patients were classified into five severity groups. Longitudinal analysis of all patients revealed two groups of cytokines, characterizing the “early” and “late” stages of the disease course and the switch between type 1 and type 2 immunity. We found significantly increased levels of cytokines associated with different severities of COVID-19, and levels of some cytokines were significantly higher during the first three days from symptom onset (DfSO) in patients who eventually required intensive care unit (ICU) therapy. Additionally, we identified nine cytokines, TNF-α, IL-10, MIG, IL-6, IP-10, M-CSF, G-CSF, GM-CSF, and IFN-α2, that can be used as good predictors of ICU requirement at 4-6 DfSO.