Poster

Respiratory pathogens continue to present an ever increasing threat to public health. Influenza, Respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus and other respiratory viruses are major etiological agents for influenza like illnesses (ILI). Establishment of viral causes of ILI is critical for prevention and mitigation strategies to disease threats. Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) together with the Ugandan Ministry of Health and partners undertook surveillance to determine viral causes of influenza-like illness in Uganda.

Objective:

To determine viral causes of influenza-like illness in Uganda.

Improvement of the Q fever epizootic and epidemiological surveillance system remains an urgent veterinary service and healthcare problem in Ukraine. The grounds for this should be laid by the results of monitoring studies of persons with a professional infection risk (livestock farms, animal processing enterprises, veterinary specialists, etc.) and living in enzootic territories , as well as research of Q fever pathogen possible sources reservoirs.

Objective:

To investigate Q fever pathogen distribution among ixodic ticks, myomorphic rodents, febrile patients, residents of enzootic areas with Q fever and persons in contact with Q fever, specifically infected persons in the Southern and Western regions of Ukraine.

There are currently 123 healthcare facilities sending data to the Washington (WA) State syndromic surveillance program. Of these facilities, 30 are sending to the National Syndromic Surveillance Program'™s (NSSP) production environment. The remainder are undergoing validation or in queue for validation. Given the large number of WA healthcare facilities awaiting validation, staff within the state syndromic surveillance program developed methods in R to reduce the amount of time required to validate data from an individual facility.

Objective:

To share practical, user-friendly data validation methods in R that result in shorter validation time and simpler code.

Natural foci of especially dangerous pathogens (EDP) (tularemia, leptospirosis, anthrax, tick-borne infections) are known in Lviv oblast for more than 50 years. An integral part of the epidemiological surveillance of these infections is the monitoring of environmental objects that can detect the circulation of pathogens in natural biotopes. Identification and studying of the activity of natural foci of EDP in the territory of Lviv oblast in previous years was conducted using classical laboratory and epidemiological methods.

Objective:

Study the advantages of using the PCR method for monitoring of natural foci within the EDP surveillance system.

Mortality rate of leptospirosis in Ukraine remains high year after year. The study of the peculiarities of lethal cases over a long period enables researchers to specify possible mechanisms of infection which cause the development of the severest cases of leptospirosis and to prevent disease emergence by applying adequate preventive measures.

Objective:

Study of the structure of lethal cases in patients diagnosed with leptospirosis in the Lviv Region.

Flaviviridae are one of the most widespread arboviruses in Ukraine. Mosquitoes are vectors of WNF in a majority of cases due to bites during swimming, fishing, work in suburban areas and outdoor recreation without use of individual protection from mosquitoes. A study of the species composition of bloodsucking mosquitoes is conducted in Ukraine. Existence of natural foci of WNF viruses has been well-proven all over the territory of Ukraine by testing IgG antibodies in different groups of population, including children. Also, infection of mosquitoes (RNA found in Culex pipiens (including Culex pipiens f. molestus, Culiseta annulata)) was registered. Infection of I. ricinus and D. reticulates was also determined, and it acts as a factor for circulation of virus in the wild too.

Objective:

To define the problems of epidemiological surveillance of West Nile fever (WNF) in Ukraine.

The epidemiological situation of natural foci of tick-borne infections (TBI) in Ukraine, as well as globally, is characterized by significant activation of processes due to global climate change, growing human-induced factor and shortcomings in the organization and running of epidemiological surveillance. For the Western region of Ukraine, among all tick-borne zoonoses the most important are tick-borne viral encephalitis (TBVE), Lyme disease (LD), human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and some others. Taking into account the increased incidence rate for these infections, we have developed baseline criteria (indicators of natural contamination of the main carriers and levels of the serum layer among the population in relation to the TBI pathogens in the endemic areas) to identify areas with different risk of contamination through GIS-technologies.

Objective:

The main aim of this work is to estimate the projected risks based on the incidence rate of natural foci infections and to expand the list of criteria for the characterization of natural foci of tick-borne infections.

The global strategy for eliminating tuberculosis (TB) epidemic "End TB" has been implemented in the world since 2016. Its main goal is to reduce the 2015 TB incidence rate by 90% and 2015 TB mortality rate by 95% by 2035. In Ukraine, in 2016, the incidence rate of new cases of tuberculosis among the general population was 54.7 per 100 thousand of population (2015 - 55.9), the rate of decrease was 2.1 ± 0.1%. In Donetsk Oblast (that is under control of Ukrainian authorities), the incidence rate increased by 2.4% and was 56.4 per 100 thousand of population. The mortality rates were 19 ± 0.6% in the country and 29 ± 2.5% in Donetsk Oblast. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, we need to enhance the annual incidence rate reduction by 10% by 2025, and TB mortality rate should be reduced to 6.5% in order to achieve the strategy-targeted values. In Ukraine, as well as globally, there is a crisis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). According to WHO estimates, Ukraine belongs to five European countries where 2/3 of MDR-TB cases were registered; the proportion of MDR-TB cases among newly diagnosed TB cases was 16%, and 48% of repeated cases. In Ukraine, this rate is equal to 24.3% and 58.2% in Donetsk Oblast, respectively. Such results in the Donetsk region may be related to the beginning of hostilities in eastern Ukraine in 2014, which lead to the active migration of population and breakdown of the supply of anti-TB drugs. According to monitoring data, 20% of with MDR-TB on the territory of the Donetsk region controlled by Ukraine were lost and did not seek medical assistance.

Objective:

Describe the common work of Donetsk State Phthisiological Service and non-governmental organizations that has been conducted since 2014 in order to achieve the global goal for tuberculosis elimination.

Leptospirosis (ictherohemoglobinuria, Leptospirosis biliousness) is a natural focal and zoonotic infectious disease dangerous for humans and farm animals. It is important to identify specific leptospira strains isolated from rodents or sick and suspicious animals by the serotype or genotype. In comparison with serotyping using micro agglutination test (MAT), molecular genotyping makes it possible to accurately identify a specific pathogen strain. The genetic classification now becomes more significant than the phenotypic classification.

Objective:

To introduce the method of molecular genotyping (MLVA) to determine the genotype of field isolates of leptospira.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a severe paralytic neuropathy associated with virus infections such as Zika virus and Chikungunya virus. There were also case reports of dengue fever preceding GBS. With the aim to understand the mechanisms of GBS and dengue outbreaks, this ecological study investigates the relationships between GBS, dengue, meteorological factors in Hong Kong and global climatic factors from January 2000 to June 2016.

Objective:

To study the trends of GBS and dengue in Hong Kong, the ecological associations between GBS, dengue, and local meteorological factors. To examine the non-stationary oscillating association among these factors.