Front-line roads of Professor M.V.Zemskov (1941-1945)

Full Text

In the course of the work, the experience of organizing large-scale anti-epidemic measures to protect the contingent of troops and the civilian population during the largest operations of the Soviet Army, in which M.V. Zemskov was a participant, was studied. His invaluable contribution, as a great scientist and patriot, to the victory in the Great Patriotic War was noted.
At the very beginning of the war, in the autumn of 1941, there was a mass evacuation of typhus patients in a general stream, which served as a serious threat of infection and spread of infection among people at the stages of medical evacuation. This is how Professor Zemskov writes about it: "The evacuation of the wounded was chaotic, including typhus patients who appeared by autumn. They were transported in the general flow of the wounded, the possibility of detecting and isolating typhus patients in such conditions became difficult, and the risk of infection spreading increased."

Under these conditions, army epidemiologist M.V. Zemskov makes the only correct decision: to transport infectious patients in sleeping bags in underwear impregnated with special antiparasitic soap, and to mark the letter "K" (quarantine) on the "medical card of the advanced area" from which every wounded and sick person is evacuated. For doctors, at all stages of medical evacuation, this meant that isolation and insecticides were mandatory. He also organized effective measures against the "significant threat of invasion" of Tularemia in the active troops. He writes about this in a letter from the front on June 30, 1943: "Everything went well. The tasks are completed. For this, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star" [1, 2].

Thanks to these events, M.V. Zemskov put into practice the principle of "staged quarantine", using deep knowledge in the field of microbiology, infectious pathology, epidemiology and the broadest scientific erudition. The essence of the principle was to isolate infected people in "quarantine zones" at each stage of medical evacuation and carry out consistent necessary measures to facilitate the treatment of infectious patients and prevent infection of others.M.V. Zemskov's proposal to create sanitary control points (UPCs), which are a kind of anti-epidemic barriers to the movement of troops, also brought great benefits. They helped to protect the personnel of the front troops from the introduction of infectious diseases from the rear areas.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Zemskov, having shown courage and extensive professional thinking, made an invaluable contribution to the development and implementation of the plan for organizing anti-epidemic support for the Iasi-Chisinau strategic offensive operation. In May-July 1944, malaria was rampant in this region. The reason for the increase in this disease was the climatic and geographical conditions of the area of deployment of the front troops, low wetlands in the Dniester delta, teeming with malaria vectors – malaria mosquitoes, the only target of which was the personnel of the front units. Under the leadership of the chief epidemiologist of the front, M.V. Zemskov, a large-scale plan of anti-epidemic measures to combat malaria was drawn up.According to the plan, a set of measures was supposed to be implemented: active detection, isolation, hospitalization and treatment of malaria patients; destruction of mosquito larvae in wetlands with oil and Parisian greenery; protection of front personnel from bites of winged mosquitoes with gauze nets and others. A meeting of the front's senior medical staff was held at the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, where the chief epidemiologist of the Guard's front, Lieutenant Colonel M.B. Zemskov, delivered a report on malaria control. His proposals for the organization of antimalarial measures were announced by the order of the troops, as a decision of the Military Council of the front.

Non-standard anti-malarial detachments were formed in each rifle division and individual regiments. In one night, using captured gas tanks, they carried out oil drilling of reservoirs, as well as, at risk, aerial spraying of the Parisian greenery of the Dniester river along the entire front line, appealing to the Germans not to shoot down planes. Everything was successful. Thus, by November 1944, the overall incidence of malaria in the front troops was reduced by 15 times.

M. V. Zemskov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree for organizing and conducting antimalarial measures during the Iasi-Kishinev offensive operation. In addition, Mikhail Vasilyevich made an invaluable contribution as an epidemiologist during the operation outside Budapest. He later said: "In the winter of 1944, I encountered massive intestinal diseases of the wounded at the front's hospital base, which was stationed in Timisoara (Romania). The doctors' information, the examination of patients, and the scattering of foci eliminated even the slightest doubts: this is exactly dysentery. It covered not only soldiers and commanders, but also service personnel, administration and economic employees. The giant hospital base has been quarantined. And this is in conditions when the troops of the 3rd UV together with the 2nd UV fought bloody battles for Budapest. The flow of the wounded went on day and night, and no one had the right to receive them and discharge the convalescents.

Extraordinary measures were needed to urgently stop the incidence and lift quarantine restrictions. Recommendations are not described in monographs and textbooks related to such situations."[3].These "extraordinary measures" were the previously unused method of active-passive prevention and treatment of patients with a combination of bacteriophage and vaccine. Thanks to this innovation, "The operation went smoothly. The quarantine was lifted after 10 days and only in some hospitals after 3 weeks."[1]

During the war, chief epidemiologist M.V. Zemskov conducted a statistical analysis of the infectious morbidity in the frontline troops, gave sanitary and epidemiological characteristics of the front area, and organized measures to eliminate a major outbreak of typhoid fever. M.V. Zemskov developed a number of instructions and methodological recommendations: "Questionnaire of the sanitary and epidemiological intelligence officer", memos to the soldier and commander "Beware of typhus", "How to protect yourself from tularemia", "Instructions for laundry service of the front troops", "Temporary instructions for the prevention and elimination of malaria in the front troops and in their area of operation", "Temporary instructions for the prevention of intestinal infections in the front troops and in their area of operation and deployment.", "Instructions for organization of anti-epidemic protection of troops from cholera".

Mikhail Vasilyevich summarized his vast combat experience in the Essays on Military Field Epidemiology, awarded in 1946. The second Prize of the Editorial Board of the polyatom work "The experience of Soviet medicine in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945."[4]

About the authors

Varvara Olegovna Morozova

Author for correspondence.
Email: SibillaBein@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0005-2368-0541
Russian Federation

Ekaterina Viktorovna Kalitenko

Email: kalitenko.y05@mail.ru
Russian Federation

References

Supplementary files

There are no supplementary files to display.