Foodborne Botulism in Ukraine from 1955 to 2018.

We aim to identify possible biological, social, and economic factors that could influence the prevalence of foodborne botulism (FB). The objective of this article is to assess epidemiological peculiarities of FB in Ukraine from 1955 to 2018 using national epidemiological surveillance data. This article presents an epidemiological descriptive population-based study of the epidemiology of FB using correlation analysis. From 1955 to 2018, 8614 cases of botulism were recorded in Ukraine causing 659 deaths. The distribution of types of botulism toxins is represented by type A (7.97%), B (59.64%), suspected as C (0.56%), E (25.47%), others (5.33%), and unidentified (1.04%). From 1990 to 2015, the rate correlation between Human Development Index (HDI) and incidence of botulism was -0.75 ± 0.20. Homemade canned meat and fish continue to be the leading causes of botulism in Ukraine. Cases related to commercial food were rare or absent, but in recent years (2017-2018), their percentage has increased to 32.56%. The HDI and botulism have an inverse mathematical correlation and predictable logical relationship: with an HDI increase, the incidence of FB decreased. In general, food botulism in Ukraine is related to traditional socioeconomic factors related to cultural food habits. In the face of declining living standards and uncertainty that food products will be physically or economically available, homemade preservation increases. Home food preservation is a major cause of botulism in Ukraine. The elimination of FB is possible in Ukraine only with the complete cessation of home canning and state control over the manufacture and sale of commercial canned products.

Hygienic assessment of different forms of physical education lessons organization in primary school.

OBJECTIVE: Introduction: Different forms of physical education lessons organization, including swimming classes were introduced in education process without studying of its healthsaving effectiveness. The aim of this study was hygienic assessment of different forms of physical education lessons organization in primary school. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in two schools with different organization of physical education lessons. The experimental group (E) consisted of 408 children of 1­4 year of study (210 girls and 198 boys) who were engaged in swimming in the school basin during one of the lessons of physical education. Control group (C) consisted of 279 primary school children (210 girls and 156 boys) from a neighboring educational institution where all physical education lessons were organized in the gym. The integral estimation of physical education classes was performed. Action timing with pulse measurement during gym and swimming lessons was held. Target heart rate level was calculated using Carvonen formula. Heart rate variability parameters were measured using diagnostic complex FAZAGRAF® . RESULTS: Results: A low level of physical load in E and C groups causes functional tension of cardio-vascular system. Pulse restitution and distribution on the types of vegetative regulation indicates that children attended one swimming lesson per week recovered better after physical load comparing to the C group. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Primary schoolchildren have low physical endurance. Attending one swimming lesson per week contributes to better recovery after physical load and improves vegetative regulation.

Contribution of Vaccination to the Reduction of Infectious Mortality in Ukraine in the Second Half of the 20th and Early 21st Century: A Comparative Population-Based Study of the Dynamics and Structure of Infectious Mortality and Incidence.

Our work presents an epidemiological analysis of the dynamics and structure of the annual indicators such as Cumulative Incidence, Mortality Rate (MR), and Case Fatality Rate for infections preventable by vaccines (vaccine-preventable infections-VPIs) in Ukraine between 1944 and 2015 compared to the same indicators for infections not preventable by vaccines (nonvaccine-preventable infections-non-VPIs). In 1965, the proportion of all infectious diseases in the context of mortality (7.47%), and especially of VPI (3.77%), including those registered among children aged 0-14 years (2.12%), testifies to the low profile of infectious diseases by the time of routine vaccination introduction. The analyses of these particular data are important with respect to the role of vaccination programs in reducing not only the total infectious mortality but also mortality related to VPIs in the twentieth century. Interestingly, in Ukraine between 1965 and 2015, similar rates of mortality reduction were observed in both the total population (1.6-2.6 times) and in children under 14 (15.2-20.4 times) for both VPIs and non-VPIs. During the 1944-2015 period in Ukraine, the reduction of MR of VPI (tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, and hepatitis B) varied greatly, ranging from 40.5 times (tetanus) to 1,061.1 times (measles), but in general, the reduction incidence rate of VPI was significantly lower ranging from 42.4 times (measles) to 471.1 times (diphtheria). The ratio of incidence and mortality reduction in percent shows the contribution of vaccination to the mortality reduction for various infections during 1944-2015. This ratio ranged from 0% (tuberculosis) to 84.9% (tetanus), provided that the reduction of the VPI incidence 100% depends on vaccine effects. Thus, we can assume that the observed reduction in mortality for some VPIs was, in part, caused by factors not associated with vaccines.