Galushko N. The peculiarities of epidemic process of shigellosis in modern conditions and biological proerties of their agents

Evolution of EPSh in Ukraine was accompanied by changes in etiological structure: high virulent agents (Grigoriev-Shig, Shtucer-Shmitz) were replaced on less virulent (Flexneri, Sonne). The latent component of EPSh now is sharply increased. The reason of such evolution of epidemic process sees in the changes occurring in bacte-rial population. We found that relative content of adhesive strains among actual isolates was 87 %, among archival - 50 %. Higher adhesive activity of actual strains at low ability to invasiveness reflects their high ability to persis-tence in a body. Isolates, insensitive to lysozyme, are meeting among actual Shigella strains in 1,7 times more often, than among museum ones. Hemolytic activity is now peculiar only S. Flexneri. Total amount of strains with hemolytic activity also decrease. In parallel, a resis-tance of Shigella strains to antibiotics and other antim-icrobes drugs dramatically increased. Leading positions in formation of resistance to antibiotics occupies S. Flexneri. On the other hand, increased stability only S. Sonne strains to chlorine-containing disinfectants was estab-lished. We revealed also increased resistance of Shigella spp. strains to high temperature. Changes of Shigella bio-logical properties are accompanying by changes in plas-mid profile, which determines resistance to antibiotics and virulence.