Recent successes in malaria control have put malaria eradication back on the public health agenda. A significant obstacle to malaria elimination in Asia is the large burden of Plasmodium vivax, which is more difficult to eliminate than Plasmodium falciparum. Persistent P. vivax liver stages can be eliminated only by radical treatment with a ≥ seven-day course of an 8-aminoquinoline, with the attendant risk of acute haemolytic anaemia in individuals with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Primaquine is the only generally available 8-aminoquinoline. Testing for G6PD deficiency is not widely available, and so whilst it is widely recommended, primaquine is often not prescribed. In the past, some countries aiming for vivax malaria eradication deployed mass treatments with primaquine on a massive scale, without G6PD testing. In Azerbaijan, Tajikistan (formerly USSR), North Afghanistan and DPR Korea 8,270,185 people received either a 14-day “standard” or a 17-day “interrupted” primaquine treatment to control post-eradication malaria epidemics. These mass primaquine preventive treatment campaigns were conducted by dedicated teams who administered the drugs under supervision and then monitored the population for adverse events. Despite estimated G6PD prevalences up to 38.7%, the reported frequency of severe adverse events related to primaquine was very low. This experience shows that with careful planning and implementation of mass treatment strategies using primaquine and adequate medical support to manage haemolytic toxicity, it is possible to achieve high population coverage, substantially reduce malaria transmission, and manage the risk of severe acute haemolytic anaemia in communities with a relatively high prevalence of G6PD deficiency safely.
Following the identification of Aedes (Ae.) aegypti in the Sochi area in Russia at the beginning of 2000, entomological surveys were conducted during the summers of 2007, 2011, and 2012, leading to the identification of Ae. albopictus and Ae. koreicus. These findings highlight Russia as being the only country in the World Health Organization European Region with a documented presence of both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. Both mosquito species are found on the coasts of the Black Sea. Control measures are needed to reduce the possible risks of importing exotic vector-borne infections, such as dengue and chikungunya.
The association of latent toxoplasmosis with mental disorders in general and with schizophrenia in particular was noticed in the mid-1950s. In subsequent years, the role of Toxoplasma gondii was established based on its ability to survive for long periods of time in the nerve cells of the brain. The acute manifestations of the infection include psychopathic symptoms resembling those of schizophrenia. In the former USSR, and in other parts of the world, a number of studies were performed with respect to the association of latent toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia. However, with the dissolution of the USSR at the beginning of the 1990s, studies on the subject were halted due to financial problems and have resumed only recently. The reasons for the resumption of such studies in contemporary Russia are related to the progressively increasing incidence of schizophrenia over the last 25–30 years in the country. According to official data, approximately 550 000 persons reported suffering from the disease in 2014. There are reasons to believe that this is only a fraction of the real burden of the disease. Economically, it cost the state no less than approximately US $10 billion. The purpose of the study was to identify the level of toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in patients with verified diagnoses of schizophrenia in comparison to healthy people in Moscow City and in the Moscow region. A total of 155 persons constituted the patients group and 152 healthy people were in the control group. An integrated approach to the diagnosis and comparison of data from the entire spectrum of serological markers of infection was used, including the detection of specific IgM and the determination of IgG concentrations. It was found that among persons with neuropsychiatric disorders, the incidence of cases with latent toxoplasmosis was higher than in the control group. The effect of toxoplasmosis was significant and similar for men and women. Further statistical analyses revealed that among patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, the incidence of latent toxoplasmosis was significantly higher than in the control group. These data are in agreement with the results of similar studies in other countries.
Background. Imported cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria from western Africa are reported annually in the Russian Federation. Infected native African people moving from western Africa for different purposes (students, businessmen, specialists, etc.) or Russian citizens (tourists, diplomats, businessmen, etc.) incubate the pathogen until reaching their Russian destination. Methods. All imported and other confirmed malaria cases and the associated Plasmodium species recorded over the past twenty years throughout the Russian Federation were inventoried. These data were included in the national register. The data of imported malaria cases were analysed according to the species of Plasmodium, case origin, dates of importation, and patient nationality. Results. A total of 267 P. vivax-infected patients who contracted the disease in western Africa were diagnosed in the Russian Federation from 1984 to 2017. Among them, 3 cases had mixed infections (2 with P. vivax + P. falciparum and 1 P. vivax + P. ovale). Conclusion. Our data reveal an existing risk of contracting P. vivax infections in towns of West sub-Saharan Africa despite the absence of local P. vivax infection records.
An immature female worm, Dirofilaria immitis, was isolated from the scrotum of a 14-month-old child. This is the first identification of human dirofilariosis caused by D. immitis in a relatively Northern region (Moscow) of the Russian Federation. The parasite was diagnosed by means of morphological examination of the worm, confirmed by PCR assay. This case raises questions about the range of the D. immitis distribution among humans in Russia. To better understand the geographical distribution of dirofilarioses, detailed clinical and epidemiological information should be collected from human cases with appropriate laboratory confirmation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.