Activities of helminthological detachments in the north of the USSR under the leadership of Professor Elizaveta Vladimirovna Sorochenkova (in honor of the 110th anniversary of the scientist’s birth)

In the mid-20th century, a high incidence of helminthiasis among the population was recorded in the European North of the USSR (Arkhangelsk Region and Nenets Autonomous Okrug), which served as a trigger for the formation of helminthological squads in 1961 to combat these diseases. The helminthological squads included medical workers, teachers of the Arkhangelsk State Medical Institute and students of this university who expressed a desire to help sick people. The squads were supervised by employees of the regional sanitary and epidemiological station, the activities of the squads were controlled by the head of the biology department of the Arkhangelsk State Medical Institute, Professor Elizaveta Vladimirovna Sorochenkova. The work of helminthological squads has proven its effectiveness, for example, in the village of Nelmin Nos in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the incidence of diphyllobothriasis among the population decreased from 44.7% in 1961 to 2.9% in 1986. Not only did the squads have the status of treatment and prevention, they were also engaged in research activities in the parasitological field. Upon completion of the squad's work, students wrote scientific articles on parasitology, spoke at conferences at various levels, and some of them devoted themselves to scientific work in their later lives. The squad movement in the helminthological profile existed for almost 30 years. A significant role in the organization of the squads belongs to Professor E.V. Sorochenkova, who would have turned 110 in 2024. She headed the Department of Biology at the Arkhangelsk State Medical Institute for 25 years (from 1957 to 1982). In 2023, the Department of Biology celebrated its 90th anniversary. The article shows the main stages of the development of E.V. Sorochenkova as a scientist and the development of the Department of Biology of the Arkhangelsk State Medical Institute, without which the organization of helminthological detachments in the European North of the USSR would not have taken place.