[Occupational diseases in Poland in 2020]. / Choroby zawodowe w Polsce w 2020 roku.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study is to analyze the epidemiological situation regarding the occurrence of occupational diseases in Poland in 2020 and to define possible directions for recommendations regarding preventive actions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The cases of occupational diseases identified in accordance with the Polish judicial system and reported to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases in 2020 were analyzed. The analysis took into account disease entities, causal factors, gender, age of patients, exposure period, NACE section and territorial differentiation. Data are presented in absolute numbers and incidence rates per 100 000 employed and 100 000 employed persons. RESULTS: In 2020, 1850 cases of occupational diseases were diagnosed in Poland (11.5 cases per 100 000 employees). The disease entities with the highest incidence were infectious or parasitic diseases, pneumoconiosis, chronic diseases of the voice organ, diseases of the peripheral nervous system, diseases of the locomotor system and hearing loss. Over 90% of the statements concerned people >45 years of age. Most of the identified occupational diseases arose after at least 10 years of work in exposure to a harmful factor, and 73.9% of cases concerned people with over 20 years of work experience in exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological situation in the field of occupational diseases in our country indicates a disturbing phenomenon, which is the persistence of a high level of pneumoconiosis of hard coal miners. The reflection of the effects of the pandemic in the COVID-19 incidence statistics as an occupational disease in 2020 is small. It is expected that the number of these cases will increase sharply in the coming years. Med Pr. 2022;73(5):427-33.

Stanowisko Komitetu Zdrowia Publicznego Polskiej Akademii Nauk w sprawie szczepień przeciw COVID-19

Public health community worldwide encouraged by successes of former campaigns have always accepted vaccination as the most effective way to handle infectious diseases pandemics. Even before the outburst of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in many countries mandatory vaccination against many diseases, especially child related had been implemented. From among 193 countries under study in as many as 105 (54%) such obligation existed and in 62 of them (59%) at least one form of punishment or harm for those opposing was involved. Following this sort of available solutions and facing COVID-19 pandemic disaster the authors on behalf of the Public Health Committee of the Polish Academy of Science recommend to the government implementation od mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for all workers in sectors of health care, education and welfare.

[Long lasting symptoms of dyspnea, cough and fatigue after COVID-19 - narrative review of epidemiological studies]. / Dlugo utrzymujace sie objawy dusznosci, kaszlu i zmeczenia po przebyciu COVID-19 ­ przeglad narracyjny badan epidemiologicznych.

"Long-COVID" is described as long-term effects of SARS­ CoV­2 infection that last >4 weeks after the acutephase of infection. The aim of this narrative reviews to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of 3 symptoms often observed in Long-COVID, i.e., chronic fatigue, shortness of breath and cough, and whether comorbidities such as diabetes and arterial hypertension increase the risk of complications after a history of SARS­ CoV­2 infection. The method of narrative review was used in this paper. PubMed (May 31, 2021) search was performed to retrieve articles concerning the occurrence of long COVID-19 chronic fatigue, dyspnoea and chronic cough. Studies in which the observation period was <30 days and the average age of subjects exceeded 60 years, as well as studies with no information on the methodology used, in particular without the method of recruiting people for the study, were excluded. Populations with a high frequency of diabetes were defined as the prevalence >10%, and in the case of arterial hypertension >40%. The average frequency of diabetes <10%, hypertension 40%. It can be concluded that in the period of >30 days after discharge from the hospital, in populations with a high incidence of diabetes and hypertension, the incidence of chronic fatigue and cough was higher than in the other analyzed groups. Symptoms of dyspnea were most frequently reported in populations with high rates of diabetes, but at the same time in the average percentage of people with arterial hypertension. Persistent symptoms specific to "Long-COVID" can significantly reduce the ability to perform work. In this situation, check-ups performed before returning to work after long-term leave tape on a new dimension. Med Pr. 2021;72(6):711-20.

COVID-19 and dentistry - safety issues regarding doctor and patient situation in time of vaccine availability.

Since one of the main mode of the COVID-19 transmission is through close contact with the infected person (<1.5 m distance) and body fluids (saliva, blood, aerosol particles), the dentists have become one of the groups being at most risk of being infected. The aim of this article is to present, based on the research search (publications from the last year 2020 and from the beginning of the current year 2021), the general overview of the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to patients and dentist as well as supporting personal protection. Authors identified 7 questions related to this topic. They address among others such issues as identification of the COVID-19 patients coming to the dental practice; protection of both the dentist and the patient from infection and a need for guidelines on the scope of emergency dental services during the pandemic. Opinions on the subject, expressed by the experts in the field, including general guidelines were also taken into consideration. In general, based on the literature overview, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely transformed the healthcare system, including dentistry. The identification of the COVID-19 patients coming to the dental practice has become a necessity (including taking epidemiological survey, temperature measurement). Currently, since "the group zero" in significant part has completed the full vaccination process, the health personnel (including dentists) might feel safer. The efficacy of the vaccines is high and provides a certain sense of security. Med Pr. 2021;72(6):729-37.

Biological security of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection in large workplaces outside the healthcare sector - an epidemiologist's point of view.

Populations in large workplaces are particularly susceptible to the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In the following article, an attempt has been made to identify main problems regarding the biological security in large workplaces outside the healthcare sector, while simultaneously pointing out the possible solutions to these problems. In this article, a literature review was performed with regard to publications that have been published within the last 4 months, concerning the issue of risk factors with regard to SARS-CoV-2 infections in large populations. Experts' opinions and statements released by institutions working in this field were also taken into consideration. On the basis of the available publications, key procedures to protect workers in large workplaces against COVID-19 were established. One of these key factors is infection prevention. It is commonly known that, due to limited possibilities of identifying infected people that are asymptomatic, physical distance in the whole employee population should be kept; personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used and tele-work should be implemented. The results of recent research have shown that, apart from airborne ways of transmission, there also exists a possibility of getting infected by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces and objects. Therefore, frequent disinfection of rooms and work tools is essential. In the current situation, due to the lack of a vaccine, only going through the COVID-19 disease, either in a symptomatic or asymptomatic form, significantly increases the chances of developing natural immunity. The means of preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections include quickly identifying the infected people on the basis of the symptoms they report, keeping physical distance, using PPE, disinfecting rooms and applying proper ventilation. Limiting the number of workers by implementing a remote work pattern is also recommended. Med Pr. 2021;72(1):89-97.