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Since COVID-19, mpox was the first emerging pathogen to have spread globally in 2022. Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has proven to be an efficient early warning system for detecting potential resurgences. This report aims to provide insight into the development and implementation of WBS of mpox in Slovenia and to incorporate the surveillance results into the development of public health interventions. WBS of mpox was conducted during the period from 1 June 2023 to 30 September 2023 at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) Ljubljana and WWTP Koper. The selected detection method of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) in the wastewater sample was based on PCR analysis. The implemented laboratory method showed that the sample preparation and concentration method enables a stable procedure for MPXV detection in wastewater samples. The laboratory analysis of wastewater samples from the selected WWTPs did not detect the MPXV during the monitoring period. In the event of MPXV detection in a wastewater sample, targeted public health interventions would be implemented, focusing on increasing awareness among the groups of men who have sex with other men and searching for positive mpox cases. We recommend that the developed system be retained in the case of an emergency epidemiological situation.

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is associated with pupils’ health and their learning performance. This study aims to provide an overview of the outdoor factors that affect the IAQ in educational settings in order to develop public health measures. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the outdoor factors that affect IAQ in educational settings. The selection of articles included 17,082 search string hits from the ScienceDirect database published between 2010 and 2023, with 92 relevant studies selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Based on a systematic review of the literature, we identified the following outdoor factors: proximity to busy roads, commercial and industrial establishments, meteorological conditions, compounds from the natural environment, emissions from heating buildings, atmospheric reactions and secondary pollutants, unpaved school playgrounds, and smoking. This study provides key information on the mentioned outdoor factors and gives recommendations on measures to reduce classroom pollutant concentrations while highlighting educational settings that require special attention. Our study shows that classroom IAQ is affected by many outdoor pollutant sources, the prevalence of which depends on the educational setting’s micro location. Therefore, it is essential to develop an appropriate classroom ventilation strategy for each educational setting.

With the reclassification of COVID-19 as an endemic disease and the relaxation of measures, Slovenia needed a complementary system for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infections. This article provides an overview of the epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in Slovenia using a wastewater surveillance system, demonstrating its usefulness as a complementary tool in epidemiological surveillance. This study found that estimated SARS-CoV-2 infections in Slovenia peaked in September 2022 and showed a declining trend with subsequent lower peaks in March–April and December 2023, mirroring the trends observed from clinical data. Based on both surveillance systems, the most prevalent variant in 2022 was BA.5. By 2023, BQ.1 and other Omicron variants increased in prevalence. By the end of 2023, XBB sublineages and the BA.2.86 variant had become predominant, demonstrating consistent dynamic shifts in variant distribution across both monitoring methods. This study found that wastewater surveillance at wastewater treatment plants in Slovenia effectively tracked SARS-CoV-2 infection trends, showing a moderate to strong correlation with clinical data and providing early indications of changes in infection trends and variant emergence. Despite limitations during periods of low virus concentration, the system proved significant in providing early warnings of infection trends and variant emergence, thus enhancing public health response capabilities.

From a public health perspective, it is necessary to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools. This study aims to assess the state of perceived IAQ in Slovenian school classrooms and its association with the selected IAQ factors to improve the understanding of perceived IAQ for designing public health interventions aimed to improve IAQ in schools. A national cross-sectional study was performed in all 454 Slovenian primary schools in the school year 2019/2020. The questionnaires were filled out by the 3rd-grade teachers with the support of the caretakers. Teachers rated the IAQ in the classroom as the worst in winter. We found that the teachers’ perceived IAQ in the classroom is statistically significantly associated with the micro location of the school and some of the IAQ factors. Poor IAQ is associated with reduced manual airing of classrooms due to the thermal comfort of the occupants. Interventions should be aimed at improving occupants’ adaptive behaviors to increase the frequency of natural ventilation in classrooms.

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is associated with pupils' health and their learning performance. This study aims to provide an overview of the outdoor factors that affect the IAQ in educational settings in order to develop public health measures. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the outdoor factors that affect IAQ in educational settings. The selection of articles included 17,082 search string hits from the ScienceDirect database published between 2010 and 2023, with 92 relevant studies selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Based on a systematic review of the literature, we identified the following outdoor factors: proximity to busy roads, commercial and industrial establishments, meteorological conditions, compounds from the natural environment, emissions from heating buildings, atmospheric reactions and secondary pollutants, unpaved school playgrounds, and smoking. This study provides key information on the mentioned outdoor factors and gives recommendations on measures to reduce classroom pollutant concentrations while highlighting educational settings that require special attention. Our study shows that classroom IAQ is affected by many outdoor pollutant sources, the prevalence of which depends on the educational setting's micro location. Therefore, it is essential to develop an appropriate classroom ventilation strategy for each educational setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the reclassification of COVID-19 as an endemic disease and the relaxation of measures, Slovenia needed a complementary system for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infections. This article provides an overview of the epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in Slovenia using a wastewater surveillance system, demonstrating its usefulness as a complementary tool in epidemiological surveillance. This study found that estimated SARS-CoV-2 infections in Slovenia peaked in September 2022 and showed a declining trend with subsequent lower peaks in March–April and December 2023, mirroring the trends observed from clinical data. Based on both surveillance systems, the most prevalent variant in 2022 was BA.5. By 2023, BQ.1 and other Omicron variants increased in prevalence. By the end of 2023, XBB sublineages and the BA.2.86 variant had become predominant, demonstrating consistent dynamic shifts in variant distribution across both monitoring methods. This study found that wastewater surveillance at wastewater treatment plants in Slovenia effectively tracked SARS-CoV-2 infection trends, showing a moderate to strong correlation with clinical data and providing early indications of changes in infection trends and variant emergence. Despite limitations during periods of low virus concentration, the system proved significant in providing early warnings of infection trends and variant emergence, thus enhancing public health response capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since COVID-19, mpox was the first emerging pathogen to have spread globally in 2022. Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has proven to be an efficient early warning system for detecting potential resurgences. This report aims to provide insight into the development and implementation of WBS of mpox in Slovenia and to incorporate the surveillance results into the development of public health interventions. WBS of mpox was conducted during the period from 1 June 2023 to 30 September 2023 at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) Ljubljana and WWTP Koper. The selected detection method of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) in the wastewater sample was based on PCR analysis. The implemented laboratory method showed that the sample preparation and concentration method enables a stable procedure for MPXV detection in wastewater samples. The laboratory analysis of wastewater samples from the selected WWTPs did not detect the MPXV during the monitoring period. In the event of MPXV detection in a wastewater sample, targeted public health interventions would be implemented, focusing on increasing awareness among the groups of men who have sex with other men and searching for positive mpox cases. We recommend that the developed system be retained in the case of an emergency epidemiological situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a public health perspective, it is necessary to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools. This study aims to assess the state of perceived IAQ in Slovenian school classrooms and its association with the selected IAQ factors to improve the understanding of perceived IAQ for designing public health interventions aimed to improve IAQ in schools. A national cross-sectional study was performed in all 454 Slovenian primary schools in the school year 2019/2020. The questionnaires were filled out by the 3rd-grade teachers with the support of the caretakers. Teachers rated the IAQ in the classroom as the worst in winter. We found that the teachers' perceived IAQ in the classroom is statistically significantly associated with the micro location of the school and some of the IAQ factors. Poor IAQ is associated with reduced manual airing of classrooms due to the thermal comfort of the occupants. Interventions should be aimed at improving occupants' adaptive behaviors to increase the frequency of natural ventilation in classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]