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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]

Background: Russia's aggression against Ukraine in early 2022 resulted in a large migration of refugees to many countries, including Poland. Vaccination coverage for some infectious diseases in Ukraine is lower than in Poland; consequently, the incidence of infectious diseases—including measles, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, and COVID-19—is higher. We aimed to investigate whether the migration of Ukrainians had influenced decisions of Polish parents on having their children vaccinated and to examine their attitudes towards vaccinations. Material and methods: A cross-sectional online survey study was designed. Data on parents' demographics, attitudes toward vaccination, and knowledge of the current epidemiological situation in Poland were collected. Parents participating in the study were divided into two subgroups for further analysis according to their decisions to have their children vaccinated. Results: A total of 568 questionnaires were collected, of which 21 did not meet the inclusion criteria for the analysis (respondents were not parents). The Ukrainian immigrants' influx affected 54 (9.87%) participants in their decision of having their children vaccinated. Respondents in this group were more likely to have a positive attitude toward recommended vaccinations (p = 0.0428); in addition, they more often had their children vaccinated with recommended vaccinations (p = 0.0063), believed the vaccination coverage with mandatory vaccinations was higher in Poland than in Ukraine (p = 0.0014), and believed the incidence of diseases covered by mandatory (p = 0.0472) and recommended (p = 0.0097) vaccinations was higher in Ukraine. In addition, parents who declared that the migration had affected their decision regarding their children's vaccinations had more often been vaccinated due to the influx of Ukrainian immigrants (p < 0.00001) and were more likely to be aware of how migration had impacted the current epidemiological situation in Poland (p = 0.0021). Moreover, the survey more often made these participants think about getting additional vaccinations for themselves (p < 0.0001) and their children (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The Ukrainian immigrants' influx affected nearly one tenth of surveyed parents in their decision of having their children vaccinated. This group was more aware of the differences between infectious diseases' epidemiology in Poland and Ukraine. In addition, they also had a more positive attitude toward vaccinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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&#95;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.

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite. While this infection typically exhibits no symptoms in humans, it poses a potential threat to the developing fetus in pregnant women. Several risk factors contribute to toxoplasmosis infection. Adherence to hygiene protocols and avoiding the consumption of raw meat, unwashed vegetables, and fruits may mitigate the risk of this disease., Objective: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of toxoplasmosis risk factors among pregnant women suspected of toxoplasmosis living in rural areas with those residing in urban areas., Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted by analyzing data from the medical records of pregnant women suspected of toxoplasmosis. These women were consulted at the Provincial Infectious Diseases Hospital between September 2019 and March 2020. The analysis encompassed patients' demographic data and information concerning toxoplasmosis risk factors. A total of 273 women's data were included in the analysis. Diagnosis relied on serological verification using the VIDAS® analyzer (bioMérieux, Lyon, France)., Results: Women residing in rural areas were less likely to report a good socio-economic status (p=0.0064), and toxoplasmosis infection was less frequently ruled out (p=0.0023). In comparison to women living in urban areas, pregnant women from rural regions were more likely to have confirmed primary toxoplasmosis (p=0.0164). Additionally, they were more prone to working in gardens without gloves (p<0.0001), consuming unwashed vegetables (p=0.0025), eating raw meat during pregnancy (p=0.0008), and cats caregiving during pregnancy (p=0.0002). This exposure included both care for domestic cats before and during pregnancy (p=0.0069) and interactions with wild cats (p<0.0001)., Conclusions: Pregnant women living in rural areas exhibited significantly higher exposure to toxoplasmosis risk factors. They also displayed a higher incidence of primary infections during pregnancy and a lower rate of excluded infections., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest., (National Institute of Public Health NIH – National Research Institute.)