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Background and Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and its etiological role in the development of cervical cancer are well established. The cervical cancer mortality rate in Serbia is one of the highest among European countries, and this cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Serbian women aged from 15 to 44. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina. A total of 10,062 cervical specimens from Serbian women were collected and HPV tested in ten years. The study patients were divided into five age groups. HPV genotype testing was performed using a commercial kit to detect 14 high-risk (HR) HPV genotypes. Additionally, cervix cytology data have been available for patients tested in 2022 and 2023. Results: An overall positive rate was found in 43.3% of patients (4356/10,062). A single HPV infection (62.1%) was the main infection pattern. The most frequent HR HPV genotypes were HPV 16, 31, 52, 56, 39, and 51, comprising 62.3% of the detected genotypes, including multiple infections. A significant difference was noted in the HPV prevalence across the different age groups, with a bimodal distribution of HPV infection. The highest prevalence was recorded in the age group ≤ 30 and those after 61 years. Women diagnosed with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) were significantly older compared to others. HR HPV is the most prevalent in patients with HSIL cytological findings (76.5%). The most common type, according to age-specific distribution and cytological findings, was HR HPV 16. Conclusions: This study provides comprehensive data on HR HPV distribution among Serbian women, which can serve as a basis for subsequent monitoring of genotypic distribution. It is particularly significant considering they are missing in the updated ICO/IARC Report for Serbia, and the cervical cancer mortality rate in Serbia is one of the highest among European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is an uncommon, but usually benign, underrecognized clinical condition with the distressing presentation of purple, blue or reddish discoloration of a patient's catheter bag and tubing in the setting of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTIs). PUBS is the result of the complex metabolic pathway of the dietary essential amino acid tryptophan. Its urinary metabolite, indoxyl sulfate, is converted into red and blue byproducts (indirubin and indigo) in the presence of the bacterial enzymes indoxyl sulfatase and phosphatase. The typical predisposing factors are numerous and include the following: female gender, advanced age, long-term catheterization and immobilization, constipation, institutionalization, dementia, increased dietary intake of tryptophan, chronic kidney disease, alkaline urine, and spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we present a case of PUBS in a home-dwelling elderly female patient with a history of long-term immobility after a pathological spinal fracture, long-term catheterization, constipation, and malignant disease in remission. Urine culture was positive for Proteus mirabilis. This state can be alarming to both patients and physicians, even if the patient is asymptomatic. Healthcare professionals and caregivers need to be aware of this unusual syndrome as an indicator of bacteriuria in order to initiate proper diagnostics and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries have resumed mass gathering events like music festivals, despite potential risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmissions. This study aimed to examine the frequency of SARSCoV-2 infection among visitors to a mass event, the EXIT festival, in relation to the proposed preventive measures. A total of 466 visitors were included in this longitudinal study conducted in Novi Sad, Serbia, during July, 2021. All subjects were tested with RDT-Ag test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus at the beginning of the study and seven days after. Basic socio-demographic and epidemiological data were collected through a questionnaire. The average age of participants was 28.34 ± 8.87 years with the majority of men (53.7%). There were 170 (36.5%) vaccinated participants. A 97.1% in vaccinated and 92.2% in unvaccinated group, reported to regularly wear a protective mask (p=0.029). At the second cross-sectional testing, 354 subjects were tested, of which 150 (42.4%) were vaccinated. There was no statistically significant difference in application of preventive measures during and after the festival, in respect to vaccination status of the participants. Twenty participants (5.6%) reported some of the COVID-19-like symptoms in the first seven days after visiting the festival, but no COVID-19 infection was confirmed at the RDT-Ag testing. Despite the potential effectiveness of applied preventive measures such as RDT-Ag screening, mask-wearing and vaccination, additional caution is needed when holding these events during a period of high SARS-CoV-2 transmission, as well as when the new virus variants emerge in community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities is a priority at the global, national, and local levels. To inform improvements planning, conditions of WASH, waste management, and environmental cleaning were assessed in 81 facilities in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia, as part of a nationally representative survey in 2019. The survey included on-site checks, structured interviews, and drinking-water quality analysis. WHO/UNICEF indicators for WASH service levels and an advanced service level defined at the national level were applied. The results showed that all investigated facilities provided basic water services; 94% of facilities provided basic hygiene and waste management services; 58 and 2%, respectively, provided basic cleaning and sanitation services. Only 1% of investigated facilities met the basic level for all five WASH dimensions. Advanced service levels were only met for hygiene, waste management, and/or cleaning in 15-38% of facilities. In 33% of health care facilities, drinking-water quality was not in compliance with the national standards. The results revealed that there is a need for increased awareness and efforts to ensure basic provisions for sanitation, environmental cleaning, and drinking-water safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this research is to determine the change in outdoor air quality during the COVID‑19 related state of emergency resulting in a lockdown and the potential health benefits for the urban population.Material and Methods: During 53 days of the COVID‑19 related state of emergency with a lockdown (March 15-May 6, 2020) in the Republic of Serbia, as well as in the corresponding periods of 2018 and 2019, data on the daily sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations were analyzed. The total mortality data were analyzed to estimate the impact of the COVID‑19 related lockdown measures on the burden of health in a given population, attributed to the outdoor air quality in the City of Novi Sad, using AirQ+ software.Results: The average daily concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, PM10 and SO2 were reduced by 35%, 34%, 23% and 18%, respectively. In contrast, the average daily concentration of O3 increased by 8%, even if the primary precursors were reducing, thus representing a challenge for air quality management. In the City of Novi Sad, a reduction in the average daily PM2.5 concentration of 11.23 μg/m³ was significant, which resulted in a quantified number of avoided deaths.Conclusions: Air pollution in the City of Novi Sad had a chance to be improved due to some preventive measures related to the infectious disease (the COVID‑19 related lockdown), which in turn was the mitigation measure to air pollution with positive public health effects. The confirmed positive effects of the improved air quality on public health could also include raising collective resistance to mass non-communicable and infectious diseases such as COVID‑19 and reducing economic costs. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(2):223-37. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]