Sulfurous Balneotherapy in Poland: A Vignette on History and Contemporary Use.

Balneotherapy experiences a sharp increase in popularity during recent years. The present paper gives a perspective on the therapeutic use of mineral baths in the town of Solec-Zdroj in southeastern Poland, an old time spa endowed with rich natural sulfurous water resources. Historical aspects of the formation and development of the spa are presented, along with the contemporary insights into the plausible mechanisms and benefits of sulfide treatment, not only in otherwise hardly treatable chronic skin disorders but also in a variety of disease processes in organ systems. Sulfurous balneotherapy is not without potential risks, particularly for the skin, a tissue it is considered the most viable treatment for. The healing effect of sulfide waters does not increase in proportion to the sulfur content. As in every stimulus-based treatment, the stimulant strength should not go beyond the favorable hormetic boundaries of safety. Although the exact bioproperties of a high content of hydrogen sulfide in natural mineral springs are yet to be fully unraveled and understood in the context of healing capability, sulfide bath treatment is capable of growing and developing. It remains a cost-effective alternative to pharmaceutical products in a variety of disorders.

Solec Spa - worldwide unique properties of Polish health resort in the service of rural medicine.

Solec Spa is health resort in south-eastern Poland. Its unique balneorehabilitation significance worldwide is determined by chloride-iodine-sodium water with a high content of hydrogen sulphide. This water, classified as highly mineralized sodium-chloride (seltzer) sulphide, bromide, iodide, boron water, contains naturally approximately 0.9 g/l divalent sulphur compounds, which is the highest concentration noted among the mineral waters of the world. The effectiveness of the Solec waters is proven in: inflammatory and autoimmunological locomotor system diseases, degenerative joint disorders (osteoarthritis), post-traumatic and post-operative orthopedic diseases, skin diseases and allergic disorders. One of the main indications for balneotherapy in Solec Spa and Busko Spa is chronic brucellosis.

Evolution of sanitary-epidemiological services in Poland in the years 1944-2014.

This paper presents the history of sanitary-epidemiological services in the context of the health, economic and socio-political situation in Poland in the years 1944-2014, with a critical analysis of legal restraints, efficiency and achievements. Polish Sanitary Services, established in 1919, as a state service, have preserved for more than 95 years (also during World War II and the occupation) the continuity of its structures and essential objectives to enable their implementation in the field of public health protection. The unique effectiveness of actions was recorded in the years 1954-1998 and 2002-2009 in the time of central (vertical) subordination of sanitary-epidemiological services. The pre-accession preparation to the European Union (EU) strongly accelerated the development of sanitary-epidemiological services in Poland. Polish accession to the European Union has promoted the implementation of the WHO document "Health for All in the 21st Century" and the reduction of "health inequalities".

The Lethal Spanish Influenza Pandemic in Poland.

The Spanish influenza pandemic in the years 1918-1920 was the largest and most tragic pandemic of infectious disease in human history. Deciphering the structure of the virus (including the determination of complete genome sequence) of this pandemic and the phylogenetic analysis and explanation of its virulence became possible thanks to molecular genetic analysis of the virus isolated from the fixed and frozen lung tissue of influenza victims who died in 1918 and were buried frozen in Alaska and Spitsbergen. Epidemiological data from the course of this pandemic in Poland have not been previously published. For analysis, we used source materials such as clinical studies and case reports of doctors fighting against the pandemic and registries of influenza cases in units of the Polish Army and military hospitals. Clinically, the pandemic of 1918 was characterized by the same symptoms and course as influenza in other years. Pathologically, the disease was similar to the other pandemic, in that the destruction was mostly limited to the respiratory tract. The "Spanish" influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 took place in Poland in 3 epidemic waves. The peaks of morbidity and mortality occurred in the capital, Warsaw, in December 1918 and in December 1919 to January 1920. It is estimated that throughout the pandemic period of 1918-1920 in Poland, 200 000 to 300 000 people died.

Epidemiological analysis of diseases of children and adolescents requiring neurological and mobility rehabilitation in the Swietokrzyskie Rehabilitation Center in Czarniecka Góra, Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological analysis of the dynamics of admissions and patient characteristics is presented concerning 5,955 children and adolescents (3-18 years of age) hospitalized in 2007-2013 with neurological and mobility diseases in Swietokrzyskie Rehabilitation Centre (SRC) in southern Poland. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Within the period of 7 years, 18,647 patients were admitted to the SRC, of whom 9,546 were admitted to the daily ward and 9,109 to the stationary wards. 5,955 were children and adolescents aged 3-18, 1,499 were children aged 3-13 and almost three times more were patients aged 14-18. The correlation between the number of admissions in each year and the number of those hospitalized depending on the age and diagnosis was examined. RESULTS: In the discussed period, in both age ranges, the group of deforming dorsopathies dominated, while cerebral palsy was the second most common cause of hospitalization, and the and post-traumatic disorder the smallest number. In the diagnoses of cerebral palsy and post-traumatic disease, boys constituted most of the hospitalized. In contrast, girls dominated in the group of deforming dorsopathies. DISCUSSION: Analysis of the material of 5,955 patients revealed a number of quantitative data which assisted in the analysis of the epidemiological situation of this group of diseases - necessary for the planning of highly specialized treatment and rehabilitation. The greatest needs in terms of admissions to the SRC concerned the group of adolescents aged 14-18. The results of combined rehabilitation indicated the full use of places in the Swietokrzyskie Rehabilitation Center and also indicated the need for similar provincial and even regional centres.

[The appreciation of the medical students' knowledge concerning the role and work of medical care funds in Polish health care system]. / Ocena wiedzy studentów medycyny na temat roli i funkcjonowania kas chorych w systemie ochrony zdrowia w Polsce.

The aim of the research was verification and comparison of the present state of knowledge among the students (of different departments and years ofstudy), about the role ofMedical Care Funds in the up-to-now healthcare system and the patient's rights as far as the students' future profession as doctors, dentists healthcare managers and medical rescuers is concerned. The research was carried out by means of anonymous questionnaire. A uniform "assessment" method was adopted following the principles of didactic measurement. The following were calculated: range, modal, mediana, arithmetic average, variance, standard deviation, easiness of the task, difficulty of the task, skip fraction, the task's differentiating power, reliability coefficient of the test using the own modification of the Excel programme. No significant differences among the particular groups have been proven as far as the students present state of knowledge is concerned. The research showed different difficulty levels of the particular questions among examined groups. The assessment of the up-to-now work of the Medical Care Funds is negative in the opinion of the respondents, no matter which medical faculty they have represented.

[Epidemiology of nosocomial bloodstream infections in Polish hospitals]. / Epidemiologia zakazen krwi w polskich szpitalach.

The article is devoted to the analysis of morbidity, mortality, risk factors and etiology of nosocomial bloodstream infections in Poland. The analysis was based on nationwide data collected in nosocomial infections surveillance system co-coordinated by the Polish Society of Hospital Infections in 1999 in 120 hospitals. There were 513,807 patients included in the study, among whom 11,157 cases of nosocomial infections were detected. In this group 332 cases of nosocomial bloodstream infections (BSI) were detected, from this number 187 was the only detected site of infection (the rate of this infection was 1.9%). The highest mortality connected with BSI was observed among newborn children and in intensive care units (morbidity rate was 28.7 for 1,000 admissions). Mortality attributable to BSI was 9.1% among all BSI cases. The results of the analysis show that there is a statistically important increase of morbidity and mortality rates attributable to BSI among patients with vascular catheters in comparison to general population. There was also a detailed analysis of connection between the weight of newborn children and occurrence of BSI. In almost 80% of detected cases of BSI laboratory tests were performed in order to identify the etiological factor. According to the results of these tests dominant etiological factors were: Staphylococcus aureus (19.6%) from which almost 60% were MRSA, CNS (19.2%) from which about 10% were strains resistant to teicoplanin and Klebsiella spp. (15.7%) from which 60.4% were strains resistant to ceftazidime. There was also a separate analysis of etiological factors of BSI and their resistance to antibiotics among children.

[Directions of changes in the Polish Vaccination Programs]. / Kierunki zmian Programu Szczepien Ochronnych w Polsce.

The article presents the state of variola epidemiology as well as the effects of this highly infectious disease in Poland in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, in the context of developing vaccination programs, which eventually led to the eradication of variola. Additionally, the progress in research on vaccines and vaccinations, as well as increase in vaccine production, led to the eradication of poliomyelitis in Europe (2002), in both Americas (1994), and in the Eastern Pacific area. Drawing on the close examination of the state of epidemiology in relation to all infectious diseases, the article suggests revisions in the annual vaccination programs, which pill cause decrease in such diseases as pertussis, meningitis, mumps, morbilli and rubeola.

[The restructuring of national sanitary inspectorate with regard to environmental hazards and health needs of the population]. / Restrukturyzacja panstwowej inspekcji sanitarnej w aspekcie zagrozen srodowiskowych i potrzeb zdrowotnych ludnosci.

The article presents the history of Polish sanitary and epidemiological services from 1918 until contemporary times. Emphasizing many achievements of National Sanitary Inspectorate, which are responsible for the low sick-rate of infectious diseases in Poland, the article also points to the increasing number and growing severity of environmental hazards in recent years. The article discusses problems caused by the "old" infectious diseases, which, though until recently regarded as passed, are posing threats to the society nowadays (e.g. TB, pestis, cholera). Equally, the article highlights problems caused by the "new" highly infectious diseases (e.g. Ebola fever, AIDS). Moreover, the article focuses on the particularly relevant subject of tackling biological weapons, the use of which can be traced past the recent events after September 11 and back to the Middle Ages. Finally, the article stresses the role of sanitary and epidemiological services in fighting recent animal epidemics, such as foot-and-mouth disease and mad cow disease. Discussing particular cases of the environmental hazards mentioned above, recorded in Poland, the article emphasizes the importance of the proper staff selection for National Sanitary Inspectorate. In the past decade in Poland, Sanitary Inspectors were selected mostly with regard to their political orientation, rather than their professional background. The author of the article hopes that human life and health will be treated with more respect in Poland in the neart future and the positions of Sanitary Inspectors will be given to professionals with proper epidemiological preparation. Radical changes in the policy of staff selection, modernization of training programs, as well as creation of a more practical structure of National Sanitary Inspectorate are the necessary conditions for transforming sanitary and epidemiological services in Poland into reliable and prestigious institutions, capable of dealing with the environmental hazards of the twenty-first century.