Human non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) are the etiological agents involved in most cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD), herpangina and aseptic meningitis. Information on the epidemiology profiles of NPEV in the Ural Federal District and Western Siberia is very limited, with no published data available. The aim of this study is to describe NPEV incidence in the Ural Federal District and Western Siberia among patients with different forms of non-polio enterovirus infections (NPEVIs) during 2022, stratified by age and clinical manifestations. A total of 265 samples that tested positive for NPEV using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were genotyped by semi-nested PCR for the VP1 gene. The results showed that 21 genotypes were identified among patients in this study. CVA6 was the most common genotype for HFMD. CVA6, along with CVA10, accounted for the majority of herpangina cases, while CVA9 was implicated in most meningitis cases. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that nearly all of the CVA6 strains identified in this study displayed a close genetic relationship to strains identified in other cities in Russia and strains from China. NPEV surveillance allows for monitoring the circulation of clinically relevant genotypes, resulting in continuous data about NPEV epidemiology. This is important for improving case prevention, diagnosis and guiding clinical management.

Introduction.Despite dramatic progress in public health, infectious diseases are common issue leading to significant burden in terms of morbidity and mortality, and emergence and re-emergence of infections and its dynamic are often unpredictable. Infectious diseases modelling and forecasting is effective instrument for policy making in epidemiology.The aim of the reviewis to systematize current literature on modelling and forecasting in infectious disease epidemiology.Materials and methodsLiterature review in field of modelling and forecasting of infectious diseases without restrictions by publication date was conducted. Publication activity was estimated using text mining software.Results and discussion.The following most common classes of modelling methods were marked: regression models, time-series models, compartmental models, agent-based models and artificial neural networks. It was noted that a number of methods (regression analysis, time-series models and artificial neural networks) are relatively simple to implement, but a considerable volume of history data is required for teaching these models. Compartmental models are partially free from this restriction, and they can be rapidly developed for assessment of emerging and reemerging infections, but their implementation presents issues caused by host population heterogeneity. Agent-based models that present most complete descriptions of host population heterogeneity and social interactions within it are extremely complex from the technical point of view.Conclusion.Despite the presence of various mathematical algorithms for disease modelling, the demand for user-friendly statistical software for disease forecasting in field practice is persist.

Introduction. Noroviruses are a common cause of acute gastroenteritis with significant public health burden, including outbreaks in health facilities, closed and semi-closed settings. This study aims to present a global overview and trends in noroviral epidemiology and highlights the important biological properties of norovirus. Materials and methods. The bibliographic databases (PubMed and Russian Science Citation Index) were searched based on the keyword “norovirus” (in English and Russian languages respectively) without restrictions and 338 papers were retrieved. Results and Discussion. Human noroviruses are highly genetically diverse and evolve rapidly, evading the host's immune response. In addition to being highly contagious, the lack of a robust cell culture system complicates vaccine development for noroviral infection prevention. This highlights the importance of surveillance and infection control measures, for efficient use of available healthcare resources for maximizing health benefits. Common preventive measures include providing the public with safe water and food (i.e. decontamination), improvement of hand hygiene, early detection, and isolation of infected individuals. Current surveillance techniques include sentinel surveillance, molecular surveillance, disease modeling, and prediction. Further investigations in the field of norovirus prevention and control and its economics are needed, since some studies demonstrate inconsistent results (i.e. effectiveness of hand sanitizers). Conclusion. Noroviral infections represent a significant public health burden and current surveillance techniques require further improvement in terms of sensitivity and accuracy. There is a need to push research in the field of prevention and control measures (safety of water and food supply, early isolation of infected patients, sufficient hand hygiene) and their effectiveness.

Introduction. Human Noroviruses (HuNoV) are highly contagious pathogens responsible of acute human norovirus infection (HuNoVI). GII.4 is the prevailing norovirus genotype in the incidence of gastroenteritis worldwide. Currently there are no studies on the molecular monitoring and phylogenetic analysis of HuNoV in the territory of the Sverdlovsk region, therefore it is not possible to objectively assess their genetic diversity. The aim of the study is to carry out genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of HNoVI in municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region: Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil, Kamensk-Uralsky in 2022. Materials and methods. Fecal samples were collected from children suffering from HuNoVI in the municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region. Viral RNA was extracted from stool samples followed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with degenerate primers flanking the ORF1/ORF2 junction. The amplified samples were genotyped by Sanger sequencing. Multiple sequence alignments were carried out and phylogenetic trees were constructed. Results. The total number of studied samples was 220. According to sequencing results, 73 positive sequences of HuNoV were typed, which represents 33% of the total volume of the studied samples. The largest share of genotypes is occupied by noroviruses GII (58%), noroviruses GI (42%). Noroviruses GII.17, GI.3 were the dominant genotypes. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that the identified sequences on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region have the smallest genetic distance, which gives grounds for their unification into a common cluster. Conclusion. For the first time, a genetic analysis of HuNoV was carried out in the territory of the Sverdlovsk region. The norovirus genotyping system based on the amplification of the ORF1/ORF2 region makes it possible to successfully identify various genotypes of noroviruses from the Sverdlovsk region. It has been confirmed that GII noroviruses remain the dominant genetic group. The results of phylogenetic analysis demonstrate the greatest homology in the formed clusters between isolates from Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil, Kamensk-Uralsky.

Here we present the data on foreign research publications describing healthcare-associated enteroviral (nonpolio) infections (HAI) sought in the Worldwide Database for Nosocomial Outbreaks (Institut für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Universitȁtmedizincomplex “Charite”, Germany) as well as PubMed search engine (The United States National Library), covering 1936–2017 timeframe. The publications retrieved contained the data on 28 nosocomial outbreaks caused by Enterovirus A (EV-A71), В (Echoviruses 11, 17, 18, 30, 31, 33, Coxsackie viruses А9, В2, В5) and D (EV-D68). It was discovered that the majority of the nosocomial enteroviral (non-polio) outbreaks occurred in obstetric hospitals and neonatal units so that children were mainly maternally infected. In addition, a case associated with intrauterine infection was described. It was shown that outbreaks might be started by an infected child at the incubation period. Single publications reported nosocomial outbreaks in geriatric hospitals. Generally, nosocomial enteroviral (non-polio) outbreaks were characterized by polymorphic clinical picture caused by any certain pathogen serotype and within a single site of the infection. Few lethal outcomes were recorded. Enterovirus B species dominated among identified etiological agents. Violated hospital hygiene and infection control contributing to spread of infection were among those found in neonatal units: putting used diapers out on baby bed prior disposal, sharing bathtub, toys and household objects as well as poor hand hygiene in medical workers. One of the measures recommended to improve diagnostics of enteroviral (non-polio) infections was virology screening of children with suspected sepsis in case of unidentified etiology. It was established that etiological decoding of nosocomial outbreaks was impossible without applying pathogen-specific diagnostic tools, mainly nested RT-PCR and direct sequencing of followed by subsequent phylogenetic analysis.

Introduction: Norovirus infection (NVI) is a highly contagious disease that is most common in children and entails significant health care costs. Objectives: To analyze and describe epidemic spread patterns of norovirus infection in the Sverdlovsk Region in 2009–2022 and to examine its determinants using statistical modeling techniques. Materials and methods: We have analyzed statistics on the monthly number of NVI cases and newborns, publicly available data on weather factors and population migration in the Sverdlovsk Region. Negative binomial regression was used to assess contribution of natural and social factors to disease incidence. The statistical analysis was carried out in the R environment. Results: A long-term increasing trend in NVI incidence that stabilized on a relatively high level in 2016–2018 was observed. The epidemic season usually started in October or November and lasted until April–May. Children under 6 years of age were at highest risk of the infection. Distribution of the disease incidence across the Sverdlovsk Region was uneven; relatively high rates were registered in some municipalities. The results of statistical modeling showed a negative correlation between weather conditions (mean temperature and relative humidity), high COVID-19 rates, and NVI incidence. The amount of precipitation, atmospheric pressure, sunshine duration, and external migration were found to be statistically insignificant predictors. In addition to the above, the level of herd immunity is likely to affect the NVI incidence, although it is hard to estimate the extent of its impact due to the lack of trustworthy data on the duration of immunity to noroviruses. Conclusion: Norovirus infection is a regional health care challenge, especially among preschool children. Ambient air temperature, relative humidity, and social distancing due to rising COVID-19 incidence rates proved to be negative predictors associated with a decrease in the number of NVI cases in the study area.