Ural-Siberian Scientific and Methodological Centre for Healthcare-associated Infection Prevention

Centre staff

Position	Name
Leading Researcher, Head of the Centre, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor	Svetlana Sergeevna Smirnova
Leading Researcher, Doctor of Medical Sciences	Tatyana Aleksandrovna Platonova
Researcher	Nikolai Nikolaevich Zhuikov
Junior Researcher	Stanislav Valeryevich Koltunov
Junior Researcher	Dmitry Dmitrievich Avdyunin
Junior Researcher	Yulia Sergeevna Stagilskaya
Junior Researcher	Anastasia Andreevna Kameneva
Epidemiologist	Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Stepanova
Biologist	Tatyana Aleksandrovna Rupysheva
Laboratory Technician	Elena Valeryevna Mingaleva

1. Overview

The Ural–Siberian Scientific and Methodological Centre for the Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections (the HAI Centre) was established in 2006 at Rospotrebnadzor’s Yekaterinburg Research Institute of Viral Infections. In 2017, the unit adopted its current name to reflect contemporary terminology in its field of work.

The HAI Centre coordinates activities and provides methodological support across 18 constituent regions of the Russian Federation in the Ural and Siberian federal districts:

• Ural Federal District (six regions): Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen and Kurgan oblasts; Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra; and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
• Siberian Federal District (12 regions): the republics of Altai, Buryatia, Tuva and Khakassia; Altai and Krasnoyarsk krais; and Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tomsk oblasts.

2. Legal and organisational framework

The HAI Centre operates under an annual plan agreed with Rospotrebnadzor and approved by the Director of the Virome Institute.

Its work is governed by:

• the Constitution and legislation of the Russian Federation;
• acts of the President and Government of the Russian Federation and Rospotrebnadzor regulations;
• the Charter of the Virome Institute of Rospotrebnadzor;
• the Regulations on the Centre, approved by Rospotrebnadzor Order No. 65 of 7 February 2017.

The Centre’s principal activities are carried out in accordance with Federal Law No. 52-FZ, On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-Being of the Population; Federal Law No. 323-FZ, On the Fundamentals of Health Protection of Citizens; and sanitary regulations SanPiN 3.3686-21.

3. Main responsibilities and functions

The Centre’s priorities are to:

• improve epidemiological surveillance of HAIs, including infections of viral origin;
• advance laboratory diagnostics and monitor the causes of HAIs alongside antimicrobial resistance in their pathogens;
• introduce modern prevention methods and optimise hygiene and disinfection measures;
• assess the effectiveness of preventive measures in the Ural and Siberian federal districts;
• conduct applied research on the epidemiology and prevention of HAIs;
• strengthen scientific and methodological support and contribute to the continuing professional development of healthcare staff.

4. Research activities

In 2025, the Centre completed a comprehensive research project under a government research assignment. The project sought to improve HAI surveillance and prevention by integrating epidemiological and molecular biological data.

Key findings

Epidemiological analysis. Obstetric (49.9%) and surgical (24.0%) departments accounted for the largest proportions of recorded HAI cases, while underreporting was observed in paediatric and infectious-disease hospitals. To address limitations in reactive epidemiological surveillance, the research team developed and patented an automated method for assessing the risk of suppurative and septic infections in different patient groups. Multifactorial risk-assessment algorithms for newborns, women after childbirth and surgical patients support a shift towards preventive risk management.

Outbreak analysis. A review of hospital outbreaks of various causes identified systemic shortcomings in infection-control measures: the source of infection was isolated in only 14.3% of cases, while breaches of disinfection protocols and hand-hygiene requirements were each documented in 35.7% of cases.

Molecular biological monitoring. Using patented methods, the team analysed 1,063 samples collected from the hospital environment and staff personal protective equipment (PPE) at a COVID-19 hospital. Bioinformatic analysis confirmed the in-hospital circulation of genetically related microorganisms, with clusters linking patients, environmental sites and staff PPE.

Genotyping results

• Acinetobacter baumannii: Sequence types ST2 (35.7%) and ST78 (30.4%) predominated. Environmental contamination was high (85.0% and 82.3%, respectively), and staff PPE was an important vehicle of transmission (47% for ST2 and 64.3% for ST78). All ST2 isolates carried the carbapenem-resistance gene blaOXA-23 and genes associated with aminoglycoside resistance. All ST78 isolates carried the carbapenem-resistance genes blaOXA-72 and blaOXA-90.
• Escherichia coli: Circulation of clonal complex CC14 (ST1193) was confirmed in an intensive care unit. Determinants of multidrug resistance to eight antimicrobial classes were identified, including the extended-spectrum β-lactamase gene blaCTX-M-15.
• Staphylococcus aureus: Four clonal complexes were identified; CC8 and CC22 isolates were recovered exclusively from staff PPE. The methicillin-resistance gene mecA was present in 15% of isolates. These findings confirmed the role of PPE as a reservoir of resistance and virulence genes.

The findings informed methodological guidelines MR 3.1.0346-24, Organisation and Implementation of Microbiological Monitoring in Healthcare Facilities.

Research is ongoing. As part of a new project on improving genomic surveillance of viral and bacterial HAIs in the Ural and Siberian federal districts, the HAI Centre welcomes collaboration with healthcare organisations and Rospotrebnadzor institutions on joint research projects.