The struggle against epidemics in diachronyМартиросян А.А., Зенина И.В.ГБОУ  ВПО Саратовский ГМУ им. В.И.Разумовского Минздрава РоссииКафедра иностранных языковThis article is devoted to the struggle against epidemics throughout the human history. The urgency of this theme is great in the field of medicine because issues pertaining to the value of life are among the most sensitive and controversial. The aims of this paper are:-to draw public attention to the problems of curing infectious diseases-to show the evolution of curing methods-to describe the prospective directions of modern research in microbiology concerning dangerous pandemics.At the beginning of mankind’s history smallpox epidemics occurred from time to time. Afterwards they happened in every country constantly. Many peoples both European and Asian tried to fight against them. The ingenious Hindus came up with variolation – they infected people with a mild form of smallpox. But it was dangerous – every 50th variolated patient died. Moreover, this method maintained the natural locus of disease. So, variolation seemed doubtful. In some countries it was even prohibited. In the 18th century an English doctor Edward Jenner discovered a vaccine against smallpox. He introduced the substance from cowpox vesicles obtained from the wound of a diseased woman to an 8-year-old Jimmy Phipps. He discovered that those who had recovered from cowpox were immune to smallpox. E.Jenner called his new method of preventing the disease “vaccination” from the Latin word “vacca” which means “a cow”. Since then, vaccination was granted to the whole mankind and smallpox began to disappear as if by magic. The final plan of preventive measures was elaborated by the scientists from the USSR. It was adopted by the WHO during the meeting in 1967. In 1980 it was officially announced that smallpox was fully defeated.Plague was the disease pandemic of which killed from 40 to 60 mln. people in Europe in the Middle Ages. The Earth envisaged 3 plague pandemics. The first vaccine against plague was invented by the Jewish scientist Vladimir Khavkin. It decreased the death rates 10 times and halved the level of disease occurrence. Real remedy was found during the WW II by the Soviet microbiologists. There are still up to 2500 cases of plague registered in the world annually. Mortality percentage is 5-10. There are no plague pandemics nowadays. However, the scientists and doctors should reveal and investigate each case of plague outbreak by modern means.The problems which modern science faces are the following: adequate training of medical stuff, lack of investments, state support of scientific research laboratories and institutions, world exchange of advanced scientific experience in the spheres of fight against dangerous infections.    
Мартиросян А.А., Зенина И.В. The struggle against epidemics in diachrony // Бюллетень медицинских Интернет-конференций, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 2015, pp. 22-22

The present review summarizes data pertaining to the composition and structure of the carbohydrate moiety (core oligosaccharide) and lipid component (lipid A) of the various forms of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), one of the major pathogenicity factors ofYersinia pestis, the cause of plague. The review addresses the functions and the biological significance of genes for the biosynthesis of LPS, as well as the biological properties of LPS in strains from various intraspecies groups ofY. pestis and their mutants, including the contribution of LPS to the resistance of bacteria to factors of the innate immunity of both insect-vectors and mammal-hosts. Special attention is paid to temperature-dependent variations in the LPS structure, their genetic control and roles in the pathogenesis of plague. The evolutionary aspect is considered based on a comparison of the structure and genetics of the LPS ofY. pestis and other enteric bacteria, including otherYersinia species. The prospects of development of live plague vaccines created on the basis ofY. pestis strains with the genetically modified LPS are discussed.
Acta Naturae. 2012;4(3):46-58.

Plague still poses a significant threat to human health, and interest has been renewed recently in the possible use of Yersinia pestis as a biological weapon by terrorists. The septicaemic and pneumonic forms are always lethal if untreated. Attempts to treat this deadly disease date back to the era of global pandemics, when various methods were explored. The successful isolation of the plague pathogen led to the beginning of more scientific approaches to the treatment and cure of plague. This subsequently led to specific antibiotic prophylaxis and therapy for Y. pestis. The use of antibiotics such as tetracycline and streptomycin for the treatment of plague has been embraced by the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Plague as the ‘gold standard’ treatment. However, concerns regarding the development of antibiotic-resistant Y. pestis strains have led to the exploration of alternatives to antibiotics. Several investigators have looked into the use of alternatives, such as immunotherapy, non-pathogen-specific immunomodulatory therapy, phage therapy, bacteriocin therapy, and treatment with inhibitors of virulence factors. The alternative therapies reported in this review should be further investigated by comprehensive studies of their clinical application for the treatment of plague.
J Med Microbiol 55 (2006), 1461-1475; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.46697-0

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J. Med. Microbiol. 1997; 46 (10): 887-892.