Influenza Ecology and Epidemiology Center
Managed by RAS academician D.K. Lvov.
The D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology has more than half a century of experience in monitoring the circulation of influenza viruses, a great contribution to the study of the properties of which was made by the scientists who were the first ones to study this problem: Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, Professor M.I. Sokolov and Professor A.S. Gorbunov. In 1959, the All-Union Center of the USSR for Influenza was created at the Institute, collaborating with the WHO, headed by outstanding scientists of the country: Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences V.M. Zhdanov, and later by Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, Professor L.Ya. Zakstelskaya. Since 1987, Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences (later - RAMS, then RAS) D.K. Lvov was elected director of the Institute of Virology, who also managed the center.
In the interests of scientific support for the solution of tasks to improve epidemiological surveillance of influenza in the Russian Federation December 12, 1994 by order No. 1994 of the State Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance of the Russian Federation, together with the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, the Scientific and Practical Center for Influenza Ecology and Epidemiology (CIEE) was established. A great contribution to its activities was made by the Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, Professor A.N. Slepushkin. Considering the likelihood of an influenza pandemic and the need to increase the efficiency of the system of current epidemiological surveillance of influenza and ARVI in the Russian Federation including the integration of laboratory diagnostic and virological data with morbidity indicators into it, by Order No. 2005 of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor) dated March 31, 2005 "On improving the system of epidemiological surveillance and control of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections" the system of surveillance for influenza and SARS was updated. It was followed by approval of a provision on the Center for Influenza Ecology and Epidemiology of the D.I. Ivanovsky Scientific Research Institute of Virology of RAMS and its support bases in Novgorod (Veliky Novgorod), Lipetsk (Lipetsk), Vladimir (Vladimir), Yaroslavl (Yaroslavl), Penza (Penza) regions, the Republic of Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Orenburg (Orenburg) and Tomsk (Tomsk) regions, Primorsky region (Vladivostok) and the Jewish Autonomous Region (Birobidzhan). The circulation of influenza viruses is supervised in several areas, including: isolation and identification of strains, study of their biological and molecular genetic properties, monitoring of sensitivity to etiotropic drugs, study of the inoculation properties and efficacy of influenza vaccines, participation in the development of diagnostic test systems and in the latter years - development of new methods of antiviral protection using modern nanomaterials. CIEE works closely with the WHO International Influenza Centers in the United States and Great Britain, regularly submitting samples of epidemic strains for inclusion in international monitoring to develop recommendations for the composition of influenza vaccines.
In 1963, five years before the "Hong Kong flu" pandemic, the Virology Institute isolated the avian influenza virus A/Duck/Ukraine/63(H3N2), the whose hemagglutinin was similar in structure to the hemagglutinin of the strain A/HongKong/1/68(H3N2) which became an international priority.
In 1977 for the first time in the world, the institute established the fact of the return of the A(H1N1) virus strains into circulation after their 1977-year absence, in connection with which the journalists dubbed it the “Russian flu”.
In 1990, for the first time, a strain of a new evolutionary line of influenza virus B, B/Moscow/1/90, similar to B/Yamagata/16/88, was isolated. Viruses of this evolutionary line, since 1990 along with the strains of the evolutionary line B/Victoria/2/87 and the like, co-circulate as etiological agents during the last epidemics.
The next priority of the CIEE, which was of global importance, was the A/Moscow/10/99 (H3N2) strain chosen by WHO experts as a standard for the production of influenza vaccines in the period 2000-2004.It should be noted that most of the reference strains of influenza A and B viruses proposed in the composition of influenza vaccines were isolated in the southern hemisphere, especially in Southeast Asia.
The CIEE has a number of priorities based on the results of studying the features of the development of the 2009 pandemic caused by the circulation of the pig-like A (H1N1)pdm09 influenza virus. On May 21, 2009, at the D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, real-time PCR (CDC&P, Atlanta, USA) detected the first case of the disease in the Russian Federation in a patient who returned from the United States, on May 24, the first strain of pandemic influenza on cells was isolated on MDCK tissue culture cells, on May 25 - in chicken embryos.
One of the areas of CIEE is to assess the effectiveness of specific agents for the prevention and treatment of influenza infection, including vaccines and etiotropic drugs.
The results obtained in the framework of the State tests of the domestic polymer-subunit vaccine Grippol enabled to reveal its low reactogenicity, high immunogenicity and protective efficacy in risk groups and to expand the range of its use in all age groups of the population (children, the elderly, persons with allergic pathology), including those with various somatic diseases, which served as the basis for the compilation of two "Instructions for the use of influenza trivalent polymer-subunit liquid vaccine Grippol", approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russia on July 8, 1999 and June 22, 2001.
High inoculating properties of IIV of the split (Begrivaktm, Vaxigriptm, Fluorikstm) and subunit (Influvaktm) types of foreign manufacturers have been confirmed in risk groups for diseases and complications. The research of vaccines contributed to their active use for the population of the Russian Federation as preventive measures against epidemics caused by A(H1N1), A (H3N2) and B strains of influenza.
Laboratory of Influenza Etiology and Epidemiology participated in the State tests of the domestic drug Arbidol for the prevention of influenza in adults and children. The proposed optimal schemes and dosages for the use of the drug in children enabled to expand the recommendations and widely introduce it into practice for the prevention of influenza and ARVI. The data were taken into account when compiling three "Instructions for the use of the drug Arbidol", approved by the Pharmacological Committee of the Ministry of Health of the Russia on May 11, 1995, December 11, 1997, and April 11, 2002.
The CIEE monitors the sensitivity of epidemic strains of influenza A and B viruses to etiotropic drugs such as Remantadine, Arbidol, neuraminidase inhibitors (Oseltamivir and Zanamivir). A complex of virological and molecular genetic methods is widely used in this respect.
One of the important activities of the CIEE is the development and implementation of new methods for the influenza diagnosis. The introduction of two modifications of the PCR method with the identification of reaction products in agarose gel (EP-PCR), as well as real-time PCR (RT-PCR) with fluorescent labels made it possible to speed up the process of monitoring the circulation of influenza virus strains and to increase the number of investigated objects (nasopharyngeal swabs and sectional material). To assess the sensitivity of strains to etiotropic drugs, methods of cellular enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorometric, RT-PCR and partial sequencing of the M2 protein gene and neuraminidases of influenza A and B viruses were used.
CIEE provides advisory and methodological assistance on diagnostics, prevention and treatment of influenza and acute respiratory viral infections, carries out improvement and training of virologists at workplaces and certification courses.