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Background: The number of late diagnoses of HIV remains very high in Poland, leading to a high proportion of patients developing and dying of HIV-related diseases. The main reason for this is the very low utilization of HIV testing. Our analyses aimed to investigate knowledge about the indications for HIV testing among medical university students, as well as identify their own HIV testing experiences. Material and methods: A cross-sectional survey study was designed to collect information on the students' demographics and their experiences of HIV testing, as well as their knowledge of virus transmission and the indications for testing. Data were collected as part of the HIV_week@WUM project conducted at the Medical University of Warsaw in parallel with the 18th European AIDS Conference, which took place in Warsaw between 18 and 21 October 2023. Results: In total, 545 questionnaires were collected. The median age of the study participants was 20 (interquartile range (IQR): 19–22 years). The majority of respondents were as follows: women (67.5%), born in Poland (97.8%), and were attending the medical faculty (56.7%). Only 114 (21.43%) participants had ever been tested for HIV. For all modes of HIV transmission, most of the respondents overestimated the risk of acquiring HIV, but, at the same time, they had never been tested for HIV. Conclusions: Only one in five health sciences students has ever had a test for HIV, which is less than estimates for the general population of Warsaw. There is an ongoing need to popularize testing among future health care providers in order to address both the indications for testing for individuals and the better use of HIV testing in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There has been a decline in vaccine-related confidence in Ukraine over the past few years, resulting in high rates of infectious diseases. Due to the arrival of a large number of refugees in Poland following the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, the risk of infectious diseases in Poland among children and adults has increased. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between parents' knowledge of the epidemiological situation of infectious diseases in Poland and Ukraine and socio-demographic factors and their attitudes towards vaccination. Material and methods: A cross-sectional survey study was designed. Data were collected through an online questionnaire between November 2022 and January 2023, where the inclusion criteria was having a child under 18 years of age. Study participants' stratification was based on responses to seven knowledge questions; those who answered all questions correctly were allocated to group 1, and the others to group 2 for further analysis. Results: A total of 547 parents were included. Their median age was 34 years [IQR: 31–39]. There were 233 (42.60%) participants who answered all the knowledge questions correctly. Respondents from group 1 were older (p = 0.033), were more likely to be in favor of recommended vaccination (p = 0.040), to be vaccinated with four doses against SARS-CoV-2 (p = 0.014), to have their children vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (p < 0.001), and to believe that the influx of migrants from Ukraine would increase the incidence rate of infectious diseases in Poland in the future (p < 0.001). They also declared awareness of the impact of migration on the epidemiological situation in Poland (p < 0.001) more often. According to the logistic regression model, older parents (OR = 1.31, p = 0.029), those who were willing to receive additional vaccinations due to migration (OR = 4.29, p = 0.003), those who were aware of the impact of migration on the epidemiological situation (OR = 2.38, p < 0.001), and those who believed that migration would have affected the incidence rate of infectious diseases in Poland (OR = 2.28, p = 0.003) were significantly more likely to belong to group 1. However, parents who were willing to vaccinate their children with additional vaccinations due to migration were significantly less likely to answer all the questions correctly (OR = 0.21, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Awareness of the epidemiological situation in Poland and Ukraine among parents is related to a greater awareness of the impact of migration and the use of recommended vaccinations and those against SARS-CoV-2. Additional vaccinations should be further promoted among both Poles and migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. In recent years, there has been an alarming increase in measles cases in Europe. Most patients were not vaccinated. The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical manifestation of measles in paediatric patients, considering the differences between infants and older children. Material and methods: This was a retrospective observational study, for which data were collected from the medical records of paediatric patients hospitalised due to measles January 2017 - December 2019. Stratification was based on age. In the younger group (infants), children under 13 months of age were included. Results: In total 84 children were enrolled in the study, including 26 infants (30.95%) and 58 older children (69.5%). In 67/84 (79.76%) participants no history of measles vaccination was reported. Among those not vaccinated, there were 28/67 (41.79%) children too young for vaccination. Fever and erythema occurred in all patients. The disease was complicated by pneumonia in 39/84 (46.43%) and acute otitis media in 19/84 (22.62%) children. Antibiotics were administered in 45/84 (69.05%) cases, of which 10/58 (17.24%) had 2 or more. The infants had significantly less frequent photophobia (p = 0.041693), lymphadenopathy (p = 0.005229), hepatomegaly (p = 0.030619), and splenomegaly (p = 0.019469), Instead, they were significantly more likely to have acute otitis media (p = 0.020141). Conclusions: Measles is a serious disease that most commonly affects unvaccinated children. The most common symptoms include fever and rash. Otitis media and pneumonia were the most common measles complications. The variations in symptoms and complications of measles differ significantly between infants and older children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]