Contribution of V. K. Menshikov to the Study of Concominant Microflora in Measles
Relevance. Currently, practical interest in measles is not fading due to its wide distribution and high infectious potential. Until the middle of the XX century, the question of the etiological agent of this disease remained open, as, indeed, for some other diseases that, as we know now, are caused by viruses. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, microbiological research in the case of measles, as a rule, consisted mainly in identifying the features of the accompanying microflora. Purpose. To analyze the research work Of V. K. Menshikov, in which he characterizes the accompanying measles bacteriological agents. Objective. To characterize the clinical and research activities of V. K. Menshikov. Methodology. The author of the article used the principle of historicism and scientific objectivity in conducting the research, using the materials of the State archive of the Republic of Tatarstan and a number of articles in the periodical press. Results. One of the first bacteriologists who turned their attention to this field of Infectology was an employee of the Imperial Kazan University V. K. Menshikov. As a pediatrician by main occupation, he was professionally engaged in bacteriological research, read a course of bacteriology for students of the medical faculty of the Imperial Kazan University in the early XX century. His contribution to the microbiological study of biological samples from measles patients is disclosed in this article. Conclusions. The work demonstrates the methodological features of the development of medical Microbiology at Kazan University at the beginning of the XX century. Viktor Konstantinovich Menshikov managed to conduct a huge amount of clinical and experimental work. The work revealed the presence of diplococcus in all patients. In addition to theoretical calculations, the author considered the issues of infection control by developing methods of diplococcus-specific serotherapy to reduce complications in measles. _____________________________________________________________________________________________