[Natural foci of plague in India: epizootological characteristics].

In the first half of the 20th century, India was responsible for the incidence of plague in both Asia and the world. The early 21st century was marked by two new epidemic outbreaks of plague (in 2002 and 2004) in this country. The major characteristics of plagues in India, activation of which is a cause of new epidemic outbreaks and necessitates a continuous epizootological monitoring, are analyzed. Historical experience shows that lower focus on surveillance of natural foci of plaque, dissemination of unjustified views on sanitation of endemic areas, and much less their lack, can cause unpredictable epidemiological complications and considerable costs. More scrupulous attention should be given to the importation of goods from North and South India (where there were outbreaks of plague in 1994, 2002, and 2004) to Russia mainly in September to March.