In Russia, both alveolar and cystic echinococcoses are endemic. This study aimed to identify the aetiological agents of the diseases and to investigate the distribution of each Echinococcus species in Russia. A total of 75 Echinococcus specimens were collected from 14 host species from 2010 to 2012. Based on the mitochondrial DNA sequences, they were identified as Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.), E. canadensis and E. multilocularis. E. granulosus s.s. was confirmed in the European Russia and the Altai region. Three genotypes, G6, G8 and G10 of E. canadensis were detected in Yakutia. G6 was also found in the Altai region. Four genotypes of E. multilocularis were confirmed; the Asian genotype in the western Siberia and the European Russia, the Mongolian genotype in an island of Baikal Lake and the Altai Republic, the European genotype from a captive monkey in Moscow Zoo and the North American genotype in Yakutia. The present distributional record will become a basis of public health to control echinococcoses in Russia. The rich genetic diversity demonstrates the importance of Russia in investigating the evolutionary history of the genus Echinococcus.
Luminescence retrospective dosimetry techniques have been applied with ceramic bricks to determine the cumulative external gamma dose due to fallout, primarily from the 1949 test, in populated regions lying NE of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Altai, Russia, and the Semipalatinsk region, Kazakhstan. As part of a pilot study, nine settlements were examined, three within the regions of highest predicted dose (Dolon in Kazakshstan; Laptev Log and Leshoz Topolinskiy in Russia) and the remainder of lower predicted dose (Akkol, Bolshaya Vladimrovka, Kanonerka, and Izvestka in Kazakshstan; Rubtsovsk and Kuria in Russia) within the lateral regions of the fallout trace due to the 1949 test. The settlement of Kainar, mainly affected by the 24 September 1951 nuclear test, was also examined. The bricks from this region were found to be generally suitable for use with the luminescence method. Estimates of cumulative absorbed dose in air due to fallout for Dolon and Kanonerka in Kazakshstan and Leshoz Topolinskiy were 475 +/- 110 mGy, 240 +/- 60 mGy, and 230 +/- 70 mGy, respectively. The result obtained in Dolon village is in agreement with published calculated estimates of dose normalized to Cs concentration in soil. At all the other locations (except Kainar) the experimental values of cumulative absorbed dose obtained indicated no significant dose due to fallout that could be detected within a margin of about 25 mGy. The results demonstrate the potential suitability of the luminescence method to map variations in cumulative dose within the relatively narrow corridor of fallout distribution from the 1949 test. Such work is needed to provide the basis for accurate dose reconstruction in settlements since the predominance of short-lived radionuclides in the fallout and a high degree of heterogeneity in the distribution of fallout are problematic for the application of conventional dosimetry techniques.
A registry of the rural population in the Altai region exposed to fallout from nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site (STS) was established more than four decades after the first Soviet nuclear explosion on August 29, 1949. Information about individuals living in an exposed and a control area was collected using all available local sources, such as kolkhoz documentation, school registries, medical treatment records and interviews with residents. As a result, a database comprising an exposed group of 39 179 individuals from 53 Altai region villages, 6769 external and 3303 internal controls was compiled. For several settlements, effective dose estimates reached the level of 1.5 Sv, while the average effective dose estimate in the exposed group was 340 mSv. Dosimetric data, vital status information and health records gathered at rayon and village medical facilities are held in the registry. Cause-of-death information for deceased residents is obtained from death registration forms archived at the Altai region vital statistics office. At present, a follow-up of approximately 40% of the population exposed in 1949 has been done. More will be added by searching for migrants to the larger towns of the Altai region, i.e. Barnaul, Rubtsovsk and Biisk. In order to assess the influence of radiation exposure, analytical studies with a case-control design for stomach and lung cancer are currently being prepared. The number of known cases is sufficient to detect an odds ratio of 1.5 at the 95% confidence level. Epidemiological studies in populations affected by fallout from STS may be equally important to the atomic bomb survivors' study for the direct quantification of radiation effects. The range of exposure rates experienced will extend the acute high-dose-rate findings from Hiroshima/Nagasaki towards acute and protracted lower exposures, which are more relevant for radiation protection issues.
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