Health risks facing travelers to Russia with special reference to natural-focal diseases.
BACKGROUND
Russia, an enormous country almost completely located within temperate latitudes, has a broad spectrum of natural landscapes which attract increasing numbers of tourists, from arctic deserts in the north to steppes and deserts in the south. Currently, tourism is undergoing active development in Russia: new travel routes, including ones that involve visiting the wilderness, are steadily appearing. Among the multitude of infectious diseases that can endanger travelers, natural-focal diseases, whose agents and/or carriers are integral to natural landscapes, are especially prominent. Some of the results of the study of natural-focal infections and parasitoses, which are necessary to evaluate the recreational and travel potential of the Russian Federation, are presented and discussed in this article.


METHODS
A cartographical and statistical analysis of infectious and parasitic natural-focal diseases, spanning more than a decade (1997-2013), is the basis of this article.


RESULTS
This analysis, along with that of additional cartographical and textual sources, reveals that natural-focal infections are most diverse between 48° N and 60° N and least diverse in the northern regions of the Far East of Russia. Different regions have different numbers of nosoforms and different morbidity level, which signifies an irregularity in the distribution of parasitic diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
This medico-geographical information may be useful both for individual tourists planning trips to Russia and tour agencies organizing tour groups. It also can be used by health advisers when they consult people before a trip, to assess the actual risks, suggest a number of precautions and pick the particular diseases out of those listed that actually constitute a risk in certain regions, and suggest a suitable preventative treatment if needed.
Department of Biogeography, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation. Electronic address: sveta_geo@yahoo.com.
Svetlana M
SM
Malkhazova
Department of Biogeography, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation. Electronic address: mironova.va@gmail.com.
Varvara A
VA
Mironova
Department of Landscape Geochemistry and Soil Geography, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation. Electronic address: shartova@yandex.ru.
Natalia V
NV
Shartova
Department of Biogeography, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation. Electronic address: polechka10@gmail.com.
Polina V
PV
Pestina
Department of Biogeography, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation. Electronic address: orlovmsu@gmail.com.
Dmitry S
DS
Orlov
D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D062305:Geographic Mapping; D006801:Humans; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012426:Russia; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014195:Travel; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*
GIS; Natural-focal diseases; Russia; Spatiotemporal dynamics; Travel health