Women living with HIV-1 are at high risk of infection with human papillomavirus of high carcinogenic risk (HR HPVs). M. tuberculosis (TB) promotes HPV infection and increases the risk to develop HPV-associated cancer. Our knowledge of persisting HR HPVs genotypes, and of the factors promoting HR HPV infection in people living with HIV-1 with clinical TB manifestations is sparse. Here, we analyzed 58 women living with HIV-1 with clinical TB manifestations (WLWH with TB) followed up in specialized centers in Russia, a middle income country endemic for HIV-1 and TB, for the presence in cervical smears of DNA of twelve HR HPV genotypes. DNA encoding HPV16 E5, E6/E7 was sequenced. Sociodemographic data of patients was collected by questionnaire. All women were at C2-C3 stages of HIV-infection (by CDC). The majority were over 30 years old, had secondary education, were unemployed, had sexual partners, experienced 2–3 pregnancies and at least one abortion, and were smokers. The most prevalent was HPV16 detected in the cervical smears of 38% of study participants. Altogether 34.5% of study participants were positive for HR HPV types other than HPV16; however, but none of these types was seen in more than 7% of tested samples. Altogether, 20.7% of study participants were positive for several HR HPV types. Infections with HPVs other than HPV16 were common among WLWH with generalized TB receiving combined ART/TB-therapy, and associated with their ability to work, indirectly reflecting both their health and lifestyle. The overall prevalence of HR HPVs was associated with sexual activity of women reflected by the number of pregnancies, and of HPV 16, with young age; none was associated to CD4+-counts, route of HIV-infection, duration of life with HIV, forms of TB-infection, or duration of ART, characterizing the immune status. Thus, WLWH with TB—especially young—were predisposed to infection with HPV16, advancing it as a basis for a therapeutic HPV vaccine. Phylogenetic analysis of HPV16 E5, E6/E7 DNA revealed no common ancestry; sequences were similar to those of the European and American HPV16 strains, indicating that HPV vaccine for WLWH could be the same as HPV16 vaccines developed for the general population. Sociodemographic and health correlates of HR HPV prevalence in WLWH deserve further analysis to develop criteria/recommendations for prophylactic catch-up and therapeutic HPV vaccination of this highly susceptible and vulnerable population group.

Iodination of foodstuffs is one basic trend in prevention of iodine deficit and diseases caused by it. The production of iodine salt is rather expensive, and hence, another highly prevalent foodstuff was chosen as "iodine carrier": bread. Bread is traditional food in Russia and its consumption is stable throughout the year. Bread baking is centralized in the majority of regions of our country. It is manufactured at rather large bakeries and delivered even to the most faraway regions. In order to solve the practical problems of baking iodinated bread, a pilot experiment was carried out in 1993-1995 in the Pavlovsky Posad district near Moscow (a region with moderate and slight iodine deficiency). The experiment was sponsored by the UNICEF (UN Childhood Foundation) and included development of the formula of bread iodination and assessment of this method of iodine prophylaxis. According to the proposed formula, 60 mg of potassium iodide is to be added per 100 g of flour; such a dose covers the daily requirement of an organism in iodine, provided 500 g of bread is consumed daily. The efficacy of iodinated bread was assessed from the time course of renal excretion of iodine and incidence of thyroid enlargement in 162 schoolchildren aged 7 to 14 at a boarding school in the town of Pavlovsky Posad, who were given 300 g of bread daily, and in 178 schoolchildren aged 9 to 11 living in the rural regions, eating about 100 g daily. After 3 months the median level of urinary iodine increased from 4.8 to 12.6 pg% in town and from 3.0 to 6.2 pg% in the country. After 9 months the levels of urinary excretion of iodine were the same, moreover, the incidence of thyroid enlargement decreased in both groups. Hence, the tasks of pilot experiment were fulfilled: a method for bread iodination has been developed and introduced at bakeries and its efficacy in normalization of iodine supply validated.

Lipiodol, an iodinated oil preparation, is used in many regions of the world characterized by severe iodine defficiency. The aim of this research was to assess the efficacy of this preparation in regions with slight and medium iodine insufficiency. A single dose of lipidol containing 200 mg iodine was administered to children aged 7 to 14 living in a region with moderate iodine deficiency, 452 of these living in town and 335 in the country. According to volumetry, the incidence of thyroid enlargement varied from 43 to 61% for different age groups and was reliably higher (p <0.001)) in the rural residents. The median of renal excretion of iodine varied from 4.5 to 9.2 microg% in the urban schoolchildren and from 3.8 to 5.8 microg% in the rural ones. One week after lipidol administration this value was 38.8, two weeks postadministration it was 30 microg%, in 3 months it was 16, and in 9 months 11.3 microg%. The incidence of thyroid enlargement has appreciably decreased and varied from 18 to 47% in different age groups. Hence, a single intake of lipiodol containing 200 mg of iodine ensures normal iodine excretion with the urine for 9 months since the drug administration and essentially reduces the prevalence of goiter in regions with moderate iodine insufficiency. Lipidol may be recommended as an alternative method of iodine prophylaxis for regions with slight and moderate iodine deficiency

Goiter prevalence and iodine excretion levels were assessed in schoolchildren aged 9 and 13 in the city of Moscow (n=91) and the Moscow region, 60 km East of Moscow (n=92). Goiter prevalence was evaluated by ultrasonography. In Moscow it was found to be 31.1 % among children aged 9 and 17.5 % among those aged 13. The respective values in the Moscow region were 47.2 and 39.3 %. Medium urinary iodine levels were 6.9 to 7.5 pg/dl in Moscow and 4.1 to 5.4 pg/dl in the region. According to modern criteria, iodine deficiency in Moscow may be regarded as mild and in the region as moderate. Control programs are urgently needed tc prevent development of iodine deficiency disorders.