Efficiency of Human Plague Vaccination in Tuvinian Natural Plague Focus

Background. Plague is an especially dangerous natural focal infectious disease belonging to a group of quarantine infections. There are eleven natural plague foci in Russian Federation. In Republic Tyva plague endemic territories include Ovyur, Mongun-Taigin and Tes-Hem areas where Y. pestis strains are intermittently isolated from Citellus undulates. Population living at the territory of the natural foci get immunoprophylaxis against plague at complication of epizootic and epidemic conditions.
This paper presents the results of monitoring indicators of the immune status of people vaccinated with the plague vaccine living in the territory of the Tuva natural focus.
Materials and methods. The study involved 76 volunteers who had not previously been vaccinated. The study included the determination of production IFN-γ, IL-4, TNF-α by blood cells, titers of specific IgG antibodies to the capsule F1 antigen of the Yersinia pestis, and concentrations of immunoglobulins in serum blood, as well as immunophenotyping of blood lymphocytes.
Results. In the course of a comprehensive immunological study, features of the development of cellular and humoral reactions in people living in the territory of the Tuva natural plague focus were established in the first months after vaccination. Changes in the concentration dynamics of the main classes of immunoglobulins were accompanied by an increase in the level of specific IgGs to the F1 within 6 months after immunization. In the same period, a significant increase in the production of cytokines, as well as significant changes in terms of the subpopulation composition of the vaccinated blood.
Conclusion. It is necessary to note the importance of studying of the human immune status in 1–3 months after plague vaccination as this period coincides with potentially dangerous season from epidemiological point of view. Nevertheless, much important role for improvement of tactics of the specific prevention measures plays the data received after the revaccination.

1. Perry RD, Fetherston JD. Yersinia pestis – etiologic agent of plague. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1997; 10(1): 35-66.

2. Henry R. Etymologia: Plague. Emerg Infect Dis. 2018; 24(1): 102. doi: 10.3201/eid2401.ET2401

3. Dubrovina VI, Konovalova ZA, Vityazeva SA, Markov EYu, Balakhonov SV, Zagoskina TYu. Plague: issues of pathogenesis and immunogenesis: a tutorial. Irkutsk: ISCST; 2016. (in Russ.)

4. Forrester JD, Apangu T, Griffith K, Acayo S, Yockey B, Kaggwa J., et al. Patterns of human plague in Uganda, 2008–2016. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2017; 23(9): 1517-1521. doi: 10.3201/eid2309.170789

5. Yun-fang Li, De-biao Li, Hong-sheng Shao, Hong-jun Li, Yue-dong Han. Plague in China 2014 – All sporadic case report of pneumonic plague. BMC Infect Dis. 2016; 16: 85. doi: 10.1186/s12879-016-1403-8

6. Balakhonov SV, Afanasiev MV, Shestopalov MYu, Ostyak AS, Vityazeva SA, Korzun VM, et al. The first case of Yersinia pestis subsp. pestis isolation in the territory of Altai Mountain Natural Plague focus. Report 1. Microbiological characteristics, molecular-genetic and mass-spectrometric identification of the isolate. Problemy osobo opasnykh infektsiy. 2013; (1): 60-65. doi: 10.21055/0370-1069-2013-1-60-65. (in Russ.)

7. Kutyrev VV, Popova AYu, Yezhlova EB, et al. The case of human plague in the Gorno-Altaisk high-mountain natural focus in 2014. In: Materialy XII Mezhgosudarstvennoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii gosudarstv-uchastnikov «Vklad gosudarstv-uchastnikov sodruzhestva nezavisimykh gosudarstv v obespechenie sanitarno-epidemiologicheskogo blagopoluchiya naseleniya v sovremennykh usloviyakh», 25-26 November 2014. Saratov; 2014. p. 130-132. (in Russ.)

8. Popov NV, Kuznetsov AA, Matrosov AN, Korzun VM, Verzhutsky DB, Vershinin SA, et al. Epizootic activity of natural plague foci of the Russian Federation in 2008–2017 and forecast for 2018. Problemy osobo opasnykh infekts. 2018; (1): 50-55. doi: 10.21055/0370-1069-2018-1-50-55. (In Russ.)

9. Balakhonov SV, Verzhutsky DB, Innokentieva TI. Epidemiological evaluation of the current state of natural focus plague in Siberia. Epidemiologiya i vaktsinoprofilaktika. 2010; 2(51): 34-37. (in Russ.)

10. Feodorova VA, Sayapina LV, Corbel MJ, Motin VL. Russian vaccines against especially dangerous bacterial pathogens. Emerg Microb Infect. 2014; 3(1): e86. doi: 10.1038/emi.2014.82

11. Aksenova VA, Alexeev LP, Aparin PG. Vaccines and Vaccination: National Guide. Moscow: GEOTAR-Media; 2011. (in Russ.)

12. Bugorkova SA, Shchukovskaya TN, Mikishis NI, Klyueva SN, Kudryavtseva OM, Kravtsov AL, et al. Comprehensive immunological study of persons vaccinated with live plague vaccine living on the territory of the Pre-Caspian Sand foci of the plague in the Republic of Kalmykia. Epidemiologiya i vaktsinoprofilaktika. 2018; 17(3): 38-50. doi: 10.31631/2073-3046-2018-17-3-38-50. (In Russ.)

13. Korytov KM, Voitkova VV, Dubrovina VI, Noskov AK, Mishchenko AI, Mikhailov EP, et al. Immunological efficiency of human plague vaccination in the Gorno-Altai high-mountain natural plague focus. Epidemiologiya i vaktsinoprofilaktika. 2018; 17(6): 87-97. doi: 10.31631/2073-3046-2018-17-87-97. (In Russ.)