Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) became fragmented, with a consequent increase in STI morbidity. In Belarus, reliable data are generally lacking as a result of poor access to effective diagnostic facilities, while the quality of laboratory testing for STIs in recognised centres is questionable. As part of the Belarusian-Swedish project "Optimization of the prevention and control of STI/HIV in Belarus" (1) we surveyed STI diagnostic facilities for the methods they used (including their range, availability and quality) and their adherence to international evidence-based guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODSDuring the period September 2006 to December 2007, all state-owned laboratories and other facilities that performed laboratory diagnostics for STIs in Belarus were invited to complete a questionnaire similar to that used and validated in our earlier studies (2). To evaluate the quality of the diagnostic assays and algorithms/strategies used in the surveyed laboratories, international evidence-based recommendations for STI diagnostics and definitions of STI surveillance cases (3-5) were used for comparison. RESULTSOf the 316 state medical facilities that provided STI services, 44% performed testing for syphilis, 82% for gonorrhoea, 80% for trichomoniasis, 55% for genital chlamydial infections, 24% for genital Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma infections, 51% for Candida infections, 61% for bacterial vaginosis (BV), 16% for genital herpes, and 4% for human papillomavirus. On average, each laboratory provided STI diagnostic services for approximately 30,000 inhabitants.Screening for syphilis was performed in 140 of the 316 laboratories surveyed (44%). Of these, 130 (93%) used locally-manufactured microprecipitation reaction (MPR) tests employing cardiolipin antigen and treponemal enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs). Confirmatory treponemal ELISAs were used in only 56% of these laboratories. The Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) test was used by 1.3% of the laboratories, while fluorescent treponemal antibody absorbed (FTA-abs) and T. pallidum immobilisation (TPI) tests were performed at seven (5%) central regional serology laboratories. Thirteen percent of the laboratories performed dark-field microscopy for the direct detection of T. pallidum.More than 80% of the surveyed laboratories tested for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis infections. Microscopic analysis of méthylène blueand/or Gram-stained smears was the main diagnostic method employed for the diagnosis and screening of both males and females (used by 76% of laboratories). Culture for N. gonorrhoeae was performed in 54 laboratories (17%). Persons suspected of having gonorrhoea, sexual contacts of persons with diagnosed gonorrhoea, and persons being tested to determine whether or not they had been cured were extensively exposed to provocation methods (biological, chemical, mechanical, alimentary and physiological) before culture was performed (6). Only five laboratories (1.6%) uti...

The clinical effectiveness and safety of the application of medicine Solcoderm has been studied during the treatment of 108 patients with warts (65 with viral warts and 33 with plantar ones) and 63 patients with pointed genital and anogenital candylomas. Of these, 62,0 % of the patients lost warts after a single application of Solcoderm, 21,3 % - after a second application and 11,1 % - after a third one. In total, 102 of the 108 patients became convalescent, i.e. 94,4 %. All the screened patients with pointed candylomas became clinically convalescent: after a single application of Solcoderm - in 68,3 % of cases, after a second application - in 23,8 % and a third one - in 7,9 % of the patients.

139 cases of herpes zoster were analyzed. Most often lesions were located in the area of chest (57,4%) and face (25,5%) dermatomes. A ratio of probability of occurrence of disease in various age groups is established. Patients of the senior age frequently endure the shingles on a background of a chronic pathology, these persons call for medical care and stand to the longest hospitalization.

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