Natural Focal Transmissible Infections with Neurological Manifestations in Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in the East of Europe. It lies between latitudes 44° and 53° N, and longitudes 22° and 41° E. It has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest contiguous country on the European continent. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. Ukraine is subdivided into twenty-five oblasts (provinces) and one autonomous republic (AR), Crimea. Additionally, the cities of Kiev, the capital, and Sevastopol, both have a special legal status. Forming of natural foci of transmissible zoonoses in Ukraine is related with the presence of three physical-geographical areas: mixed forests (Ukrainian Polissya), Forest-Steppe, Steppe and two, placed extrazonal physical-geographical areas (Carpathian and Crimean Mountains). Largely forested area in the western region is 20% of Polesie 25,7%, in Ukrainian Carpathians over 60%. Prevails landscape of broadleaf forests, which grows about 120 trees and shrub species, including pine, oak, fir, beech, ash, hornbeam, linden, maple. Variety of natural-vegetable associations, favourable abiotic terms (temperature and humidity) are preconditions of existence of numerous representatives of vertebral and bloodsucking arthopods – potential reservoirs and vectors of various infections pathogenes. On territory of Ukraine existence of natural foci of transmissible infections of different etiology is wellproven long-term researches: viral (TBE, CCHF, WNF, HFPS, Kemerovo, Ukuniemi, Caliphornia serologic group and other), bacterial (tularemia, Lyme-borreliosis), ricketsial (Q-fever, HGA, Ixodo-Rickettsiosis Marseliensis). On the breadth of geographical distribution, weights of clinical manifestatons and remote consequences most actuality for the health protection of country is presented by a tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lymeborreliosis (LB).