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Background: Plasmodium falciparum is the leading cause of imported malaria and the most common cause of death in returning travellers., Aim: To identify the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with imported falciparum malaria in the Republic of North Macedonia., Material and Methods: Retrospectively analyzed were the epidemiological and clinical features of 34 patients with imported falciparum malaria who were diagnosed and treated at the university clinic for infectious diseases and febrile conditions in Skopje from 2010 to 2022. Malaria diagnosis was based on the microscopic detection of parasites in thick and thin blood smears., Results: All patients were male, with a median age of 36 years and a range of 22-60 years. Of the patients 33 (97.1%) acquired the disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. All patients except one stayed in endemic regions for work/business purposes. Chemoprophylaxis was completely applied in 4 (11.8%) patients. The median time of onset between the symptoms and diagnosis was 4 days, with a range of 1-12 days. Prevailing clinical manifestations were fever, chills, and splenomegaly in 100%, 94%, and 68% of patients, respectively. Severe malaria was noticed in 8 (23.5%) patients. In 5 (14.7%) patients the initial parasitemia was higher than 5%. On admission, thrombocytopenia, hyperbilirubinemia, and elevated alanine aminotransferase were registered in 94%, 58%, and 62% of patients, respectively. Out of the 33 patients with adequate follow-up, the outcome was favorable in 31 (93.9%)., Conclusion: In every febrile traveller returned from Africa, imported falciparum malaria should be an essential part of differential diagnostic considerations., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Over the last decades, the epidemiology of human brucellosis globally has been subjected to significant changes, with the eradication of many existing endemic hot spots. This paper describes three cases with initial misdiagnosis of brucellosis that were managed during 2011-2017 in Republic of North Macedonia, country that until recently has been declared as endemic region. In spite of the fever, constitutional symptoms, focal disease (spondylitis, pneumonia and orchitis) and previous contact with domestic animals, brucellosis was not initially recognized, and patients were inadequately managed. Brucellosis should be part of differential diagnostic considerations in patients exposed to contacts with animals, with osteoarticular symptoms and signs, constitutional manifestations and different organ involvements in endemic regions where its incidence is diminishing.

Human activity has a direct influence on the climate on our planet. In recent decades, the greater part of the scientific community has united around the concept of Global Warming (GW). This process highly impacts the geographical distribution of mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases (MBD). The examined scientific publications show that Africa, especially sub-Saharan countries were and still hot spot of MBD globally. The economic, social, and environmental conditions prevailing in most African countries have effectively contributed to the spread of MBD. The current situation is very worrying, and it will get even more complicated as GW gets worse. In this regard, health systems in developing countries will have serious difficulties in health policies and public health activities to control the spread on MBD. Therefore, the governments of African countries should do more to combat MBD. However, a part of the responsibility lies with the international community, especially countries that contribute to GW. In conclusion, the analysis of the scientific literature showed that with increasing importance of GW leads to an increase in the prevalence of MBD., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: Bachir Khezzani et al.)

Background: The aim of this research was to perform a seroepidemiological survey of hepatitis E virus (HEV) by an alternative method-serological establishment of the virus from pig liver transudate. This is the first such research in Bulgaria. Moreover, no studies have been conducted on HEV in pig liver in our country. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 liver samples from healthy pigs were collected from slaughterhouses in three parts of the country (Sofia, Lovech, and Stara Zagora districts). An equal number of samples ( n  = 30) were obtained from each district. Results: The overall HEV seropositivity was 67.7% of all 90 tested pig liver transudate samples; in Sofia district 20.0%, in Lovech district 90.0%, and in Stara Zagora district 93.3%. Conclusion: These data are similar to our previous serological studies for HEV in serum samples from industrial pigs, wild boars, and East Balkan swine. In this regard, testing the liver transudate could be a fine alternative method for seroepidemiological survey on HEV in swine.

Introduction: Dysentery is an infectious clinical syndrome which can cause high morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. This research highlights the epidemiological features of dysentery in Lemghaier province, Algeria., Methods: A retrospective study of the incidence rates of dysentery in Lemghaier province, Algeria and overall for the whole country for the period from January 2001 to December 2018 was carried out. On a local level data were provided by the Directorate of Health and Population of El-Oued province, Algeria. At the national level data were provided by the National Public Health Institute, Algeria., Results: An overall number of 1,786 cases of dysentery were notified, with an incidence rate of 58.5 cases per 100,000 population (mean±SD: 58.54±47.20; 95% CI: 36.73-80.35). The high incidence rate was reported in autumn and summer, respectively, with 23.4 and 20.1 cases per 100,000 population. The high incidence rate observed in the persons aged 20-44 years with 76.4 cases per 100,000 population. Females were more likely to have dysentery than males, respectively, with 63.6 against 53.7 cases per 100,000 population. The highest incidence rate was reported in Lemghaier municipality (capital of the province) with 176.9 cases per 100,000 population., Conclusions: The results from this research showed high incidence rates of dysentery in Lemghaier province, Algeria. Тhis fact is a serious reason for national public health organizations to take adequate and timely measures to reduce the incidence rates of dysentery in this part of the country., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: All authors – none to declare., (GERMS.)

Introduction: Brucellosis, the most common zoonosis globally, is considered a major public health problem., Objective: A retrospective study was carried out over 21 years (1998-2018) to determine the epidemiological features of human brucellosis in the province of El-Oued (south-eastern Algeria)., Results: 1,832 confirmed cases of human brucellosis were reported during the study period, with an average incidence rate of around 12.26 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The annual distribution of the incidence was characterized by an increasing trend and a strong fluctuation ; its values ranged between 2.27 and 24.96 per 100,000 inhabitants. The monthly distribution showed that the highest incidence rates were recorded from mid-February to July, with a peak of 2.74 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in April.Human brucellosis has affected all municipalities. The highest incidence rate was observed in border municipalities such as Ben Guecha and Oum Tiour (89.76 and 66.14 per inhabitants, respectively).The incidence in the male population was higher than that of the female at 14.63 versus 9.83 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, noting that it increases with age. Individuals over 65 years are the most at risk, with an incidence rate of 22.32 per 100,000 inhabitants., Conclusion: Along with strengthening preventive measures in the population, eliminating brucellosis in animals is the most effective method to protect humans against infection.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of many dangerous parasitic diseases. It remains a serious public health problem not only in Souf oasis, but also in Algeria and all developing countries. The results of our thirteen-year study shows a recording of 4813 confirmed cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and the details shows that this disease affects all municipalities and all age groups, from infants to elderly, but the most affected ones are teenagers aging (10-19) years with 1512 cases (31.41%) and infants less than 9 years old with 1237 cases (25.70%). In addition, males are more prone to this disease than females (65% and 35% respectively). Among the 18 municipalities in the Souf, the most affected were El-Oued with 1171 cases (24.33%) followed by Guemar with 997 cases (20.71%). Furthermore, more than 40.03% of all cases (1927 cases), were record just in one year in 2010. A parallel, this study shows that the original factors of the studied area, such as climatological, agricultural and environmental factors, was the reason do not apparition this epidemic for a long time, but the changes in these conditions, resulting from various human activities create new environmental conditions, which help with the emergence and spread of leishmaniasis disease. The effective fight against this disease should be based on the elimination of the vectors and reservoirs populations, by the overall improvement of sanitary conditions and hygiene, extensive research in epidemiology of leishmaniasis could also reduce the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)