The History of the Department of Microbiology, Virology, and Biotechnology

The Department of Microbiology at the Kyiv Veterinary and Zootechnical Institute (KVZI) was established in 1922. Later, as the curriculum expanded, it was first renamed the Department of Microbiology and Virology, and subsequently the Department of Microbiology, Virology, and Biotechnology.

The first head of the department was Fedir Zakharovych Omelchenko (1865–1924) — a prominent scientist, physician, and educator. After graduating from St. Volodymyr University of Kyiv, he worked as a military doctor and lecturer in pathological anatomy and bacteriology, and headed bacteriological laboratories in Warsaw and St. Petersburg.

Omelchenko’s research covered cytology, pathological anatomy, microbiology, and anthropology. He studied the effects of plant essential oils on the pathogens of typhoid fever, anthrax, and tuberculosis, investigated microbial variability and spirochete morphology, and developed a treatment method for spirillosis.

Between 1920 and 1924, he contributed to the Russian–Ukrainian Medical Explanatory Dictionary. In 1922, Fedir Omelchenko became Head of the Department of Microbiology at KVZI and was later elected Rector of the Institute, actively fostering the development of the Ukrainian school of microbiology.

In 1924–1925, the Department of Microbiology was headed by Ivan Petrovych Neshchadymenko (1885–1967), whose research focused on the morphofunctional properties of blood under various influences, including infectious diseases, helminth infections, and the effects of heavy metal salts.

From 1925 to 1930, the department was led by Professor Mykhailo Vasylovych Revo (1889–1962). His scientific work addressed brucellosis, the antigenic properties of tetanus anatoxin, and the development of its production technology. He also studied the biological characteristics of the tuberculosis pathogen and authored the textbooks “Fundamentals of Microbiology” and “Course of Special Microbiology.”

Between 1930 and 1941, the department was headed by Professor Borys Vasylovych Fursenko.

During 1941–1955, both in evacuation in Sverdlovsk and after returning to Kyiv, the department was led by Professor Tymofii Petrovych Slabospytskyi (1905–1955), who also served as Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Deputy Director of the Institute. He studied anthrax, listeriosis, brucellosis, pasteurellosis, and swine fever, was the first in the USSR to isolate the listeriosis pathogen in pigs, and published about 40 scientific works.

In 1956–1979, the Department of Microbiology was headed by Professor Volodymyr Vasylovych Nikolskiy (1906–1982) — Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Honoured Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, recipient of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, two Orders of the Badge of Honour, and numerous medals. He authored more than 110 scientific papers and four monographs, served as an expert of the Higher Attestation Commission of the USSR, and was a member of several academic councils for awarding doctoral degrees.

Professor Nikolskiy initiated the teaching of Veterinary Virology and established a Research Laboratory of Veterinary Virology at the department, equipped with advanced instruments of the time — including an electron microscope, ultracentrifuges, ultramicrotomes, and low-temperature refrigerators. This made it possible to culture cell lines and isolate animal viruses. He was the first in the USSR to demonstrate the viral nature of mass gastroenteritis in newborn piglets, which caused nearly 100% mortality.

Together with his students (E. Krasnobaiev, V. Bortnichuk, V. Lytvyn, H. Khudzynskyi, V. Skybitskyi, F. Ibatullina, S. Rakhyma, and others) and colleagues (I. Revenko, T. Haidamaka, V. Platonenko, O. Zakordonets, K. Nastenko), he studied natural resistance and immunological reactivity in animals, investigated the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and prevention of infectious diseases in pigs and cattle. During this period, for the first time in Ukraine, the pathogen of chlamydiosis in pigs (V. Bortnichuk) and the pathogen of genital mycoplasmosis in cattle (V. Skybitskyi) were isolated and characterized.

Protégés of Professor V. V. Nikolskiy, Professors I. P. Revenko and V. P. Lytvyn, under his supervision, carried out important research and continued the study of infectious animal diseases, later heading the Department of Epizootology.
The work of I. P. Revenko focused on the biology and pathogenic properties of the swine erysipelas pathogen and phenomena of bacteriophagy.
V. P. Lytvyn, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, academician of the Academy of Sciences of Higher Education of Ukraine, Honored Scientist of Ukraine, and State Prize laureate, studied natural resistance, immune reactivity of animals, the etiopathogenesis of infectious diseases, and developed methods for their prevention and treatment.

From 1979 to 1984, the department was headed by Professor Volodymyr Andronovych Bortnichuk, who investigated the etiopathogenesis of chlamydial infections in animals, developed methods for diagnosis, prevention, and therapy, and for the first time in Ukraine diagnosed swine chlamydiosis. He also studied intestinal dysbioses and their prevention.

From 1984 to 1995, Professor Vladyslav Petrovych Onufriyev (1925–1998) led the department. His research focused on foot-and-mouth disease, methods of diagnosis, prevention, and induction of passive and active immunity. The vaccines and preventive measures he developed significantly improved the epizootic situation and contributed to the recovery of livestock in Ukraine from foot-and-mouth disease.

From 1996 to 2016, the Department of Microbiology was headed by Professor Volodymyr Huriiovych Skibytskyi.

He began his scientific work as a student under the guidance of Professor V. V. Nikolskiy, successfully defending a thesis on the study of rumen microflora under the influence of various factors. Since then, he has devoted his career to microbiology and virology.

During his postgraduate studies, Professor Skibytskyi was the first in Ukraine to identify and experimentally confirm mycoplasmosis caused by Mycoplasma bovigenitalium. His subsequent research focused on the biology and etiological role of rotaviruses, coronaviruses, rhabdoviruses, pestiviruses, and asfarviruses in animal pathology, as well as enterobacteria. He also studied factors of immunological reactivity in animals and developed methods for diagnosing and preventing infectious diseases.

As head of the department, Professor Skibytskyi directed the team toward pressing scientific and practical challenges. A branch of the department was established at the Central Laboratory of Veterinary Medicine, and the virology laboratory was reorganized as the “Problem Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology, Virology, and Immunobiotechnology”.

The department focused on antiviral immunity, developing methods for its modulation, and implementing diagnostic tools based on ELISA, immunofluorescence, and immunochromatography. Key elements of antiviral immunity were studied, and stimulatory agents based on recombinant and native cytokines were developed (e.g., Kombiferon, Anfluron, Hexakanis). Diagnostic test systems were created and applied for rabies, brucellosis, influenza A, bovine leukemia, chlamydiosis, PRRS in pigs, pasteurellosis, and others, improving control over major infectious diseases in Ukraine.

Special attention was given to studying ecological and biological properties of potential foodborne pathogens, such as Yersinia and Salmonella, to ensure the production of safe animal products.

From 2016 to 2020, the Department of Microbiology was headed by Professor Tetyana Vasylivna Mazur.

Over the years, the department included faculty members such as Professor S. M. Kharchenko and O. V. Yablonska; associate professors K. M. Sherstoboyev, E. Y. Ulasevich, S. G. Tashuta, O. V. Novitska, V. V. Stolyuk, F. Zh. Ibatullina; and assistants O. M. Korsunsky, S. A. Osinsky, A. I. Pasovsky, Yu. D. Nechiporenko, T. V. Haidamaka, M. S. Degtyar, G. Sh. Khudzinsky, V. P. Hots, and R. O. Dimko. Their productive work as educators and researchers is reflected in numerous publications.

For many years, the department has successfully collaborated with various research organizations, including the Ukrainian Laboratory of Quality (Kyiv), D. K. Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology (Kyiv), Institute of Veterinary Medicine of NAAS of Ukraine (Kyiv), L. Hromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases (Kyiv), State Agroecological University (Zhytomyr), Institute of Petrochemistry of NAS Ukraine (Kyiv), and NPP “Bio-Test-Laboratory” (Kyiv).

In March 2020, a new department was established by merging two departments: the Department of Epizootology and Organization of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Microbiology, Virology, and Biotechnology. The new department was named the Department of Epizootology, Microbiology, and Virology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at NUBiP of Ukraine, and it was headed by Associate Professor Melnyk Volodymyr Vasylovych, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences.