N.V. SKRIPCHENKO¹, D.O. IVANOV¹, I.V. BABACHENKO^1, 2, M.K. BEHTEREVA^1, 2, A.S. LEVINA^1, 2, V.A. GRESHNYAKOVA^1, 2, A.A. VILNITS^1, 2, S.M. KHARIT^1, 2, L.G. GORYACHEVA^1, 2, G.P. IVANOVA^1, 2, N.V. ROGOZINA^1, 2, R.A. IVANOVA^1, 2, E.YU. SKRIPCHENKO^1, 2

 ¹Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, Saint Petersburg

²Federal Scientific and Clinical Center of Infectious Diseases, Saint Petersburg

 Contact details:

Skripchenko N.V. — MD, Honored Researcher of the Russian Federation, Professor, Head of the Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases

Address: 2 Litovskaya St., 194100 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, tel.: +7-921-435-53-91, e-mail: rmtc@mail.ru

 Every year, 50 to 60 million cases of infectious diseases are registered in the Russian Federation, with up to 70–80% of them occurring in childhood. The diversity of infectious agents, the continuous variability of viruses and bacteria, the emergence of new pathogens, the growth of immunodeficiency states among children, age-related «defects» in the immune response, and the intensifying anti-vaccination movement create conditions for epidemiological problems in the country associated with outbreaks and epidemics of infectious diseases.

The purpose is to collect, systematize and monitor the incidence of current infections in children (acute respiratory infections, vaccine-preventable infections with respiratory manifestations, herpesvirus and intestinal infections) in the Russian Federation in 2022–2024, to identify trends and determine prospects for their prevention.

Methods. Specialized electronic resources, such as the e-Library, PabMed, Scopus, and CyberLeninka databases, were used to obtain the necessary information and search for literary sources. We analyzed clinical and epidemiological studies, the State Report «On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population in the Russian Federation» of 2022–2024, as well as descriptive and systematic literature reviews. It was noted that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of quarantine measures, there has been a significant reduction in the registered cases of influenza and RSV infection, and a change in the seasonality of respiratory viral infections. A new trend in the prevention of infant morbidity and mortality is outlined. It involves vaccinating not only children and adults throughout their lives, but also pregnant women in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Currently, in Russia, vaccination of pregnant women against influenza, COVID-19 and whooping cough is recommended. Aspecific recombinant immunoglobulin drug is used to protect children at risk from RSV infection.

Key words: infectious diseases, children, respiratory infections, vaccine-preventable infections with respiratory manifestations, intestinal infections, herpesvirus infections, morbidity, monitoring, diagnostics, prevention.

 REFERENCES

1. Muhsen K., Cohen D. A perspective on the 2021 GBD study of diarrhoeal diseases. Lancet Inf. Dis, 2025, vol. 25 (5), pp. 474–476. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00799-0
2. Nygaard U., Holm M., Rabie H., Rytter M. The pattern of childhood infections during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet, 2024, vol. 8 (12), pp. 910–920. DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(24)00236-0
3. Shmueli M., Lendner I., Ben-Shimol S. Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pediatric infectious disease landscape. Eur. J. Pediatr, 2024, vol. 183, pp. 1001–1009. DOI: 10.1007/s00431-023-05210-x
4. Babachenko I.V., Orlova E.D., Lobzin Yu.V. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the seasonality of respiratory syncytial virus infection. Zhurnal infektologii, 2022, vol. 14 (2), pp. 39–46. DOI: 10.22625/2072-6732-2022-14-2-39-46
5. Filayeva N.A., Babachenko I.V., Kurova N.N. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of whooping cough (literature review). Zhurnal infektologii, 2025, vol. 17 (1), pp. 15–25 (in Russ.).
6. Williams T.C., Sinha I., Barr I.G., Zambon M. Transmission of paediatric respiratory syncytial virus and influenza in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eurosurveillance, 2021, vol. 26 (29), pp. 1–9.
7. Chesshia P.A., Nalysnyk L., Fernandes A.W. et al. Mortality and morbidity among infants at high risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus infection receiving prophylaxis with palivizumab: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Pediatr. Crit. Care Med, 2011, vol. 12 (5), pp. 580–588. DOI: 10.1097/PCC.0b013e3182070990
8. Halabi K.C., Saiman L., Zachariah P. The Epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus in New York City dure the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic compared with previous years. J. Pediatrics, 2022, vol. 242, pp. 242–244. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.10.057
9. Ugleva T.N., Abidinova A.A., Ushakova O.N. Prevalence and clinical risk factors for adverse outcomes of acute lower respiratory tract infections in children under 5 years of age. Vestnik SurGU. Meditsina, 2025, vol. 18 (1), pp. 30–38 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.35266/2949-3447-2025-1-3
10. Binns E., Koenraads M., Hristeva L. et al. Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus during the COVID-19 pandemic: Time for a new paradigm? Pediatr. Pulmonol, 2022, vol. 57 (1), pp. 38–42. DOI: 10.1002/ppul.25719
11. Muller W.J., Madhi S.A., Seoane Nuñez B. et al. Nirsevimab for Prevention of RSV in Term and Late-Preterm Infants. N Engl. J. Med, 2023, vol. 388 (16), pp. 1533–1534. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2214773
12. Minta A.A., Ferrari M., Antoni S. et al. Progress Toward Measles Elimination — Worldwide, 2000–2022. MMWR Morb. Mortal Wkly Rep, 2023, vol. 72 (46), pp. 1262–1268. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7246a3
13. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Increase of pertussis cases in the EU/EEA, 8 May 2024 Stockholm: ECDC; 2024. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, 2024. Catalogue number: TQ-02-24-500-EN-N, ISBN: 978-92-9498-717-4, DOI: 10.2900/831122.
14. Cho S., Kim D.W., Achangwa C. et al. Pertussis in the elderly: Plausible amplifiers of persistent community transmission of pertussis in South Korea. J. Infect, 2024, vol. 89 (3). 106232. DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2024.106232
15. Babachenko I.V., Nesterova Yu.V., Chernyshova Yu.Yu. et al. Clinical and epidemiological aspects of whooping cough in children under conditions of mass vaccination prophylaxis. Zhurnal infektologii, 2019, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 88–96 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.22625/2072-6732-2019-11-2-88-96
16. Vishneva E.A., Kostinov M.P., Mazankova L.N. et al. Resolution of the Forum of Experts of the Russian Federation «Chickenpox: a serious infectious threat to the Russian Federation that can be prevented by vaccination» of December 7, 2019. Voprosy sovremennoy pediatrii, 2019, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 491–494 (in Russ.).
17. Skripchenko E.Yu., Ivanova G.P., Skripchenko N.V. et al. A modern view on the characteristics of the course of chickenpox in children. Prakticheskaya meditsina, 2021, no. 2, pp. 8–13 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32000/2072-1757-2021-2-8-13
18. Strategiya razvitiya immunoprofilaktiki infektsionnykh bolezney na period do 2035 goda (Utverzhdena rasporyazheniyem Pravitel′stva Rossiyskoy Federatsii ot 18.09.2020 no. 2390-r) [Strategy for the Development of Immunoprophylaxis of Infectious Diseases for the Period up to 2035 (Approved by the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 18, 2020 No. 2390-r)], available at: https://www.garant.ru/products/ipo/prime/doc/74591684/ (accessed on: 22.06.2025).
19. Afonina N.M., Mikheyeva I.V. Monitoring the incidence of herpes zoster in Russia at the stage of implementing epidemiological surveillance. Biblioteka vracha. Epidemiologiya i infektsionnyye bolezni. Aktual′nyye voprosy, 2024, no. 1, pp. 7–13 (in Russ.). DOI: 19. 10.18565/epidem.2024.14.1.7-13
20. Zheleznikova G.F., Skripchenko N.V., Skripchenko E.Yu. Varicella-zoster virus and the immune response. Rossiyskiy immunologicheskiy zhurnal, 2013, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 35–48 (in Russ.).
21. Solomay T.V. Dynamics of Incidence and Territorial Spread of Infectious Mononucleosis. Zdravookhraneniye Rossiyskoy Federatsii, 2019, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 186–192 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.18821/0044-197KH-2019-63-4-186-192
22. Shakhgil′dyan V.I., Aleksandrova E.P., Kozyrina N.V. et al. Cytomegalovirus Infection in Pregnant Women and Newborns: Epidemiological Analysis, New Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment. Akusherstvo i ginekologiya: Novosti. Mneniya. Obucheniya, 2020, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 80–94 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24411/2303-9698-2020-12008
23. Kharit S.M., Skripchenko N.V., Vil′nits A.A. Prakticheskiye voprosy vaktsinoprofilaktiki: rukovodstvo dlya vrachey [Practical issues of vaccination prophylaxis: a guide for doctors]. Saint Petersburg, 2025. 220 p.
24. Saidian H., Daugberg R., Heilmann L., Jensen A.-M. Children hospitalised with gastroenteritis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acta Paediatrica, 2025, vol. 114, pp. 148–155. DOI: 10.1111/apa.17418
25. Burke R.M., Mattison C.P., Marsh Z. et al. Norovirus and other viral causes of medically attended acute gastroenteritis across the age spectrum: results from the medically attended acute gastroenteritis study in the United States. Clin. Infect. Dis, 2021, vol. 73 (4), pp. e913–e920. DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab033
26. GBD 2021 Diarrhoeal Diseases Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific burden of diarrhoeal diseases, their risk factors, and aetiologies, 1990–2021, for 204 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Infect Dis, 2025, vol. 25 (5), pp. 519–536. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(24)00691-1
27. Zhang D.L., Jin Y., Li D.D. et al. Prevalence of human parechovirus in Chinese children hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis. Clin. Microbiol. Infect, 2011, vol. 17 (10), pp. 1563–1569. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2010.03390.x