Introduction: Epstein–Barr virus-related diseases are of great medical and social importance, which requires assessment of economic losses due to costs of medical care and sickness absenteeism.

Objective: To propose a methodology for assessing economic damage and to use it for quantification of total damages caused by Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infections in the Russian Federation in 2022.

Materials and methods: The economic damage from EBV infections was determined using official statistics (2022) on cases of infectious mononucleosis, upper respiratory tract infections, cardiac arrhythmias, atopic dermatitis, dorsopathy, chronic tonsillitis in the acute phase, cerebrovascular disease, psoriasis, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19.

Results: Based on the methodology for assessing economic damages described in the article, we found that the total financial losses from EBV-associated diseases in the Russian Federation in 2022 amounted to 1,203.0 billion rubles, which is significantly higher than similar values for all other registered infectious diseases with the exception of COVID-19. COVID-19-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome, upper respiratory tract infections, and cerebrovascular disease accounted for more than 90 % of all losses. The structure of total costs was dominated by indirect economic losses (1,096.75 billion rubles or 91.2 %) due to sickness absence from work.

Conclusion: The findings allow us to outline directions of developing measures to reduce the economic damage from EBV-associated diseases.

Introduction: The activities of forensic medical examiners are associated with an elevated risk of contracting highly infectious diseases. Introduction of standard operating procedures into the daily practice of these health professionals can increase their biological safety.

Objective: To evaluate effectiveness of implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) in order to improve biological safety of the personnel performing autopsies in the Republican Bureau of Forensic Medicine in the city of Kazan.

Materials and methods: The results of bacteriological testing of 120 indoor air samples for the total plate count, Staphylococcus aureus, yeast, and mold counts, and 320 surface wipe samples for S. aureus and total coliform counts, collected from February 3, 2021 to June 18, 2021 in the Autopsy Division before and after enforcement of standard operating procedures, were analyzed using the Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and McNemar test.

Results: The analysis of 40 air samples taken after SOP enforcement and tested for the total plate count showed a significant decrease in bacteriological contamination of the premises: from 1,000.0 to 226.7 CFU/m³ (T = 5.7, p < 0.01) and from 812.5 to 165.0 CFU/m³ (T = 6.287, p < 0.001) in the Teaching Autopsy Room and Autopsy Room One, respectively. A statistical decrease was also observed in airborne fungal concentrations in Autopsy Room One (T = 3.727, p < 0.01) and the Teaching Autopsy Room (T = 5.129, p < 0.01). The post-SOP frequency of detection of coliform bacteria on various surfaces and autopsy instruments demonstrated a significant reduction as well (160 wipe samples, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The study results show a pronounced decrease in microbial contamination of the Autopsy Division following adoption of standard operating procedures at the Republican Bureau of Forensic Medicine in the city of Kazan.

It can be argued that standard operating procedures are effective in ensuring biological safety of healthcare workers.

Introduction: Adverse human health effects of railway noise are examined in many foreign and domestic studies.

The purpose of our work was to assess the noise impact of rail transport and its contribution to creating an acoustic discomfort zone in residential areas of the city of Voronezh.

Materials and methods: We took 36 noise measurements at nine monitoring points in the residential area of single-family housing construction at the distances of 25, 50, and 75 meters from the main local source of noise, i.e. railway traffic, including long-distance and suburban passenger trains. The “Assistant” sound level meter (accuracy class 1) was used for measurements taken in November 2023 – January 2024 on weekends (Sat–Sun) in the daytime and at night. Contribution of railway transport to the overall noise level was then estimated.

Results: Field measurements showed that in the daytime, the equivalent noise level along the railway track exceeded hygienic standards by 1.4 to 1.7 dBA in the absence of railway traffic due to the proximity to a highway (70 m) and by 14 to 18.6 dBA in its presence; at night – by 2.2 to 3.2 dBA and by 25 to 29.9 dBA, respectively. This means that during 24 hours, 30 % of the territory of the study object is exposed to higher noise levels in the absence of railway traffic. During the passage of long-distance and commuter trains, the discomfort zone increases to 60 % in the daytime and to 100 % at night.

Conclusions: In our case, railway noise pollution can be reduced by installing additional translucent noise shields, landscaping the adjacent territory to separate residential buildings from railway tracks, and planting trees and shrubs. In general, when designing railway lines and their infrastructure facilities, it is important to envisage sanitary gaps with modern means of protection against noise.

Introduction: One of the negative consequences of using antibiotics is the development of antimicrobial resistance. At the same time, the scale of impact of antibiotic pollution in the environment has not been determined so far.

Objective: To analyze data on antibiotics in the environment and associated issues.

Materials and methods: We used information analysis techniques based on collection and processing of scientific articles published in 2003–2023 and presented in such abstract databases as Scopus, Elsevier, and RSCI; Google Scholar keyword search was also done. The selection criterion was availability of information about measured concentrations of antibiotics in various environmental objects, routes of their entry, and adverse effects of antibiotic contamination. Fifty-three publications were found eligible for inclusion in this review.

Results: Contamination of water and soil with antibiotics is almost similar to that with pesticides. Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics due to subinhibitory concentrations of the latter, which are 200 times lower than the minimum inhibitory concentration. Some studies prove that exposure of soil to antibiotics causes a decrease in soil respiration and changes in its nitrification and denitrification rates. In Russia, the use of veterinary antibiotics grows by 40 % annually, while penicillins and tetracyclines remain the most popular classes. Antibiotics are easily adsorbed to soil particles, accumulate quickly and degrade slowly. The half-life of tetracycline, for instance, is about 500 days, and when soil levels of certain substances are low, the risk of antibiotics entering the food chain and plant products increases.

Conclusion: The continuous release of antibiotics into the environment and their harmful effects on living organisms is a serious challenge, requiring further study in the context of ecological imbalance. Future research should also focus on developing and implementing methods minimizing the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.

Introduction: Being a mandatory component of the educational process, homework remains its least regulated part. At the same time, recent scientific research findings give evidence of study overload and daily routine disruption in schoolchildren due to, inter alia, a significant amount of homework.

The purpose of this work is to assess the functional state of the organism of schoolchildren in the course of doing homework for further optimization of this type of educational activity.

Materials and methods: The study was based on testing of mental performance of schoolchildren in grades 1–8, which is an integral indicator of the functional state of the body and is crucial for educational activities. The technique of proofreading tests was used to assess the main parameters of mental performance: the number of characters viewed, the number of mistakes made, and their ratio. The tests were conducted before and after the children completed their homework.

Results and discussion: A decline in mental performance was observed in the majority of the examined: the number of viewed characters decreased while the number of errors significantly increased after doing homework. First and second- year primary school children made 9.62 errors against 13.07; fifth graders – 3.49 against 7.85 errors (p < 0.001); and eighth graders – 5.86 against 7.39 (p < 0.05). A significant proportion of schoolchildren (28.6 to 72.7 %) had adverse shifts in mental performance characteristic of severe fatigue. The results show accumulated fatigue by the start of independent work with already deteriorated performance related to previous intensive studies at school or insufficient rest against the background of a decline in physiological functions of the body.

Conclusion: It is essential to optimize organization of homework based on updated principles of mental health given its current features.

Background: Sensorineural hearing loss ranks first among occupational diseases in workers of noisy occupations. Recent studies have proven the role of tobacco smoking as a risk factor for hearing impairment in workers exposed to industrial noise.

Objective: To summarize and systematize the results of studying the impact of tobacco smoking on hearing impairment in workers employed in noisy jobs.

Materials and methods: We have searched Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and RSCI databases for the studies published in 1990–2023 using the following keywords and phrases in Russian and English: smoking, hearing loss, occupational noise-induced hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, noise, and pathogenesis. Materials from 36 full-text sources containing information on the role of tobacco smoking and the pathogenetic mechanisms of hearing loss in individuals exposed to noise at work were used for the review.

Results: Currently, there is no consensus on primary targets and the main pathogenetic mechanism of hearing loss. An increasing role in its development has been assigned recently to metabolic disorders with subsequent activation of signaling pathways leading to cell apoptosis. We have established that tobacco smoking can be an independent risk factor for hearing loss at high frequencies, while the combined exposure to tobacco smoking and occupational noise has an additive effect. Smoking can act as an independent factor causing hearing impairment at lower noise levels in the workplace, and quitting smoking reduces the risk of hearing loss.

Conclusion: Our findings allow us to expand the understanding of the role of tobacco smoking in hearing loss in workers employed in noisy jobs and the pathogenetic mechanisms of hearing impairment related to chronic occupational noise exposure in smokers in order to substantiate a comprehensive, integrated approach to its treatment and prevention.

Introduction: This review is devoted to the algorithmic approach to establishing epidemic thresholds for a wide range of diseases, including influenza and acute respiratory infections.

Objective: To compare Russian and foreign approaches to the determination of epidemic thresholds within public health surveillance systems.

Materials and methods: To reveal the algorithmic approach to establishing epidemic thresholds in the epidemiological surveillance system, we summarized the results of 14 foreign scientific works and two domestic method guidelines published before December 31, 2023. The literature search was conducted in the eLibrary, CyberLeninka, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases using the keywords “epidemic threshold” and “epidemic”. We compared domestic and foreign algorithms for establishing epidemic thresholds by various characteristics, including the statistical method used, determination of a numerical value of the epidemic threshold, complexity of the algorithm, and the possibility of automating calculations.

Results: Here we discuss the classification and comparative characteristics of the basic algorithms for determining epidemic thresholds used in various countries of the world when carrying out epidemiological surveillance, including the syndromic one. We describe the existing methods for establishing and presenting epidemic thresholds, as well as the sequence of steps for performing the Farrington algorithms, the Early Aberration Detection System C1–C3, the Method of Moving Epidemics, the Method of Moving Percentiles, Multi-level identification of increasing activity by indicators taking into account mixed effects, as well as algorithms provided in Russian Method Guidelines MR 3.1.2.0118–17 and MR 3.1.2.0303–22. We also dwell on the problems of development, accuracy assessment and prospects for the implementation of existing and developed algorithms.

Conclusions: Current algorithms for establishing epidemic thresholds in epidemiological surveillance systems around the world are diverse; they rely on different statistical methods and vary in complexity. To date, there is no convincing evidence of higher efficiency of any algorithm.

Introduction: The RNA-containing severe acute respiratory syndrome virus SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly around the world by adaptation to the host through genetic evolution. The emergence of variants with genetic mutations that increase contagiousness and transmission may hamper the effectiveness of disease control programs and efficacy of vaccination.

Objective: To establish dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2020–2021.

Materials and methods: Genomic monitoring was carried out based on positive results of testing nasopharyngeal swabs. SARS-CoV-2 was detected by a real-time reverse transcription –polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using registered commercial test kits. Genetic variants (n = 15) were determined by high-throughput sequencing on a MiSeq device (Illumina, USA) using the COVID-19 ARTIC v3 protocol. Mutational variability of SARS-CoV-2 was examined using a cluster analysis of amino acid substitutions in the S protein applying Ward’s method. Nucleotide sequences from Kyrgyzstan (n = 15), Russia (n = 16), India (n = 2), and China (n = 2) were aligned using MAFFT. IQ-TREE v1.6.12 was used to infer the phylogenetic tree by maximum likelihood applying Nextstrain processes. Isolates Wuhan/Hu-1/2019 and Wuhan/WH01/2019 downloaded from the GenBank® database were considered to be the root of the tree (reference).

Results: Phylogenetic data analysis revealed that SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 (Alpha) was the dominant VOC variant, the proportion of which was as high as 36.4 % (12/33); B.1.351 (Beta) was also found (6.1 % or 2/33). When samples were examined for amino acid substitutions in the S-protein, B.1.1.7 Alpha (British) isolates were found to cluster into two distinct branches.

Conclusion: The study of the frequency and influence of mutations on pathogenetic properties of the virus, as well as the analysis of the predominant variants of the virus will allow timely measures to be taken to counteract the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the country. In this regard, continuous genome monitoring of circulating COVID-19 variants is necessary.

Background: Diarrheal diseases consistently occupy one of the leading positions in the structure of infections, especially in children under the age of 5 years. A decrease in the incidence of bacterial intestinal infections and an increase in viral ones have been observed recently with an uneven territorial distribution of registered cases.

Objective: To characterize the main manifestations of the epidemic process of acute intestinal infections in the Far Eastern Federal District of the Russian Federation in 2022.

Materials and methods: Based on official statistics, we analyzed the incidence of acute intestinal infections by age groups, types, and administrative territories of the federal district; we also examined the outbreaks of these infections registered in 2022.

Results: We established that the incidence rates of almost all leading acute intestinal infections (except for shigellosis) in the Far Eastern Federal District were higher than the Russian averages. Viral infections prevailed in the diarrhea cases with identified pathogens. Children under 6 years of age were found to be the most affected population while the highest incidence was observed in the age group of 1–2 years. We noted differences between the areas of the District and established higher disease rates in 4 of its 11 regions. Oral and direct contact routes of transmission generally prevailed, especially in collectives, leading to outbreaks.

Conclusion: In general, the manifestations of the epidemic process of acute intestinal infections noted in 2022 indicate the persistence of potential epidemiologic risks of both sporadic cases and outbreaks on the territories of the Far East.