The Russian Federation has ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, and thereby reaffirmed its international obligations assumed in the field of chemical disarmament. To solve the problem of the destruction of chemical weapons, given its complexity and versatility, the Presidential Federal Target Program «Destruction of stockpiles of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation» was developed. This article is dedicated to the history of the formation of a unique structure – the Federal Office for the Safe Storage and Destruction of Chemical Weapons and the formation of a team of its specialists who directly performed the difficult task of destroying chemical weapons. September 27, 2017 at the facility for the destruction of chemical weapons in the village Kizner of the Udmurt Republic, in a special ceremony, the last chemical munition was destroyed. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has recorded the fact of the complete destruction of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation with the relevant certificates. The program for the destruction of chemical weapons was completed 3 years ahead of schedule, with savings of 9.6 billion rubles. The main results of the completed process of destruction of chemical weapons are that no human life has been lost and no damage has been done to the environment. Currently, the Federal Directorate is implementing measures within the framework of the departmental project «Liquidation of the consequences of the activities of storage facilities and facilities for the destruction of chemical weapons in the Russian Federation» of the state program of the Russian Federation «Development of industry and increasing its competitiveness».

Previously, the principle of constructing modular materials with specified properties was developed, according to which organometallic composites with nanoscale metal complexes introduced into them were applied to a unified fabric platform. The aim of the work was to study the properties of a unified fabric platform and to establish the possibility of giving protective bactericidal properties to fibrous materials (tissues). Such a platform has high stability and good bactericidal activity. It is shown in the article that the most significant indicators for tissue biocide were those reflecting the particle size of the dispersed phase, particle size distribution, the chemical composition of the dispersed phase, the qualitative and quantitative ratio of impurities in the dispersion medium, the concentration of particles of the dispersed phase in the dispersion medium, ζ-potential of particles of the dispersed phase; wettability of the fibers of the material by the main component of the dispersion medium (solvent), volatility of the main component of the dispersion medium (solvent). The bactericidal properties depended on the chosen method of fibrous material functionalization. Due to the principle of modular construction of materials with desired properties, it turned out to be possible to use organometallic composites with complexes of metal nanoparticles introduced into them. Studies of the biocidal activity of fibrous materials functionalized with metal nanoparticles in relation to different types of bacteria showed that it is possible to achieve characteristics comparable or even exceeding the known characteristics of antimicrobial drugs (benzetonium and benzalkonium chlorides) currently used in medical practice. As a unified fabric platform on which special modules are applied, it is proposed to use para–aramid protective fabric (Rusar fiber), as well as other types of fabrics - mixed aramid-viscose, aramid-cotton, aramid-polyacrylate, metaaramide (Nomex fiber). Approaches to giving materials (tissues) bactericidal protective properties are determined.

Currently, Western pharmaceutical companies have mastered the production of licensed drugs based on transovarial chicken specific antibodies (IgY antibodies) intended for the treatment and prevention of infections caused by Helicobacter pylori, influenza virus and other pathogens. Of particular interest is the possibility of using IgY antibodies as an inexpensive specific antidote for emergency specific prevention of infections caused by pathogens of dangerous and especially dangerous infections. The purpose of this work is to summarize the results of studies that have shown a high therapeutic potential of transovarial specific immunoglobulins in the treatment and prevention of dangerous viral, bacterial infections and injuries by biological toxins – potential agents of biological weapons (BW). The advantage of using IgY technologies for passive immunization is a non-invasive method for obtaining antibodies, as well as a large amount of them – 20–30 g of immunoglobulins, which can be obtained from one laying hen per year. An important advantage of IgY over immunoglobulins derived from mammalian serum is that they do not interact with complement components, nor with rheumatoid factor, nor with Fc receptors of mammalian immunocompetent cells, which significantly reduces the manifestation of adverse reactions, in particular, antibody-dependent enhancement of infection (ADE). Experiments carried out in vivo and in vitro showed a high activity of IgY antibodies in suppressing the damaging effect of pathogens of especially dangerous infections and biological toxins. It is shown in the article, that the replacement of mammalian IgG with avian transovarial IgY allows obtaining commercially significant amounts of thermostable specific antibodies that do not cause ADE, and expands the possibilities of methods for specific prevention and treatment of lesions caused by viruses, bacteria, and toxins – potential agents of biological weapons.

Monkeypox is a natural focal zoonosis of rodents and monkeys living in the Congo Valley (clade CB) and West Africa (clade WA). The special interest in monkeypox is due to its pandemic spread, which began in May 2022. The aim of this article is to consider the danger of monkeypox due to the lack of knowledge about its nature, as well as existing achievements in the treatment and prevention of this disease. The information was collected mainly from English­language sources available through the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The study was conducted in the following areas: the epidemiology of monkeypox outbreaks until May 2022; taxonomy and origin of monkeypox virus (MPV); morphology and life cycle of poxviruses; ecology and epidemiology of MPV; the clinical picture of monkeypox in humans with natural infection; monkeypox clinic in European homosexuals; clinical picture and pathomorphology of monkeypox in animals with artificial infection; immunoprophylaxis and therapy of monkeypox. It has been established that until May 2022 the appearance of MPV into non­endemic countries was limited to single cases of the disease. Because of that, the monkeypox pandemic that began in May 2022 looks atypical. The low­contagious MPV (WA) that caused it did not occur in Nigeria until 2017. Its spread was facilitated by a new mechanism of infection through organized homosexual contacts. Therefore, monkeypox should no longer be considered a rare disease geographically limited to the countries of West and Central Africa. It is also necessary to take into account the possibility of activating the natural reservoirs of other poxviruses, as well as the realization of their epidemic potential through immunodeficient human populations, which reach 20% of the total population in the developed countries. At present, there are no vaccines or drugs whose efficacy and safety have been confirmed in epidemic foci of MPV with immunodeficient populations. Serious efforts should be made to identify man­made outbreaks of monkeypox; to the identification of possible zoonotic hosts of MPV in Russia; factors that support MPV in ecosystems; host factors that determine the severity of the disease, as well as facilitating animal­to­human and human­to­human transmission.

The lecture is intended for training NBCD Corps’ specialists from both the Russian Federation and foreign states, dealing with the issues of chemical safety. The lecture highlights two topics: 1) peculiarities of design of US chemical munitions and warfare devices; 2) marking and coding of US and NATO chemical munitions and devices. The material presented in the lecture will allow for broadening the horizons and acquiring knowledge related to the peculiarities of design, marking and coding of US and NATO chemical munitions and warfare devices. In addition, the lecture provides a review of changes in the marking and coding of US and NATO chemical munitions and warfare devices. It also deals with the historical development of the system of chemical munitions marking and coding.