Activity of Natural Foci of Infectious Diseases in the Territory of the Rostov Region, Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics

The aim of the work was to assess the state of natural foci of tularemia, Ixodidae tick-borne borrelioses (ITBB), West Nile fever (WNF), Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CHF) and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the territories of the Rostov Region, Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as of 2023.

Materials and methods. The study of field material samples, which included 2782 specimens of Ixodidae ticks of six species, 9874 specimens of blood-sucking mosquitoes of 12 species and 2974 specimens of small mammals of 17 species, collected in 2023 in the territories of the Rostov Region, Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, was carried out for the presence of markers of CCHF, WNV, HFRS, Lyme disease, tularemia and leptospirosis pathogens. Infectious agents were indicated using bacteriological, serological and molecular-genetic methods.

Results and discussion. Five tularemia cultures were isolated in the Rostov Region and the presence of tularemia pathogen markers was confirmed (11 positive PCR samples and 15 positive antigen tests), as well as ITBB (12 positive PCR tests), WNF (one positive PCR test and two positive ELISA tests), and CCHF (10 positive PCR tests and five positive ELISA tests). In the Donetsk People’s Republic, markers of tularemia pathogens (six pure cultures, one positive PCR test, and 50 positive antigen tests), ITBB (93 positive PCR tests), leptospirosis (one positive PCR test), WNF (one positive ELISA test), CHF (one positive PCR test and two positive ELISA tests), and HFRS (eight positive ELISA tests) were registered. Markers of tularemia pathogens (one pure culture, 14 positive PCR samples and 49 positive antigen tests), ITBB (65 positive PCR samples), leptospirosis (one positive PCR sample) and HFRS (12 positive ELISA samples) were detected on the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic. Thus, general structure of parasitic system of active natural foci of infectious diseases, functioning as part of integrated landscape-ecological complex, has been formed in the territory of the Rostov Region, Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

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