Global Epidemiological Threats: A Review of the Worldwide Epidemiological Situation and an Assessment of the Risk of Dangerous Infectious Diseases Importation to the Russian Federation

The review presents the current global epidemiological situation, with a focus on the risks of importation of dangerous infectious and parasitic diseases into the Russian Federation. The analysis is based on data from international organizations, national health authorities, scientific publications, and electronic outbreak reporting systems. Probabilities of disease importation were estimated taking into account passenger traffic and the epidemiological status of source countries. The findings are structured according to the six regions, following the World Health Organization regional classification. When describing the relevant region, the general causes of epidemiological problems and the contribution to global morbidity are briefly outlined, the largest outbreaks are described, and gaps in the scientific community’s understanding of the true incidence of a number of infections in various territories are noted. The synthesized conclusions may be of practical value to professionals involved in border sanitary protection and epidemiological surveillance in the context of preventing the spread of infectious threats. The analysis underscores the ongoing need to improve approaches to sanitary protection measures in response to evolving epidemiological threats. These threats are driven by persistent risks of importing well-known infections from endemic countries, the resurgence of previously controlled diseases, the emergence of novel pathogens, and the geographic expansion of infections into previously non-endemic areas.

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