With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the dominant pathogen of acute respiratory infections (ARI) became the coronavirus. Cases of coronavirus disease are registered throughout the year, with increase in the incidence in the autumn-winter period. Since the fall of 2022, the appearance of the type A influenza virus has been noted, which caused a severe course of the flu in patients. The aim of our study was to compare the distribution of laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19 and influenza. From January 2022 to April 2023, 4,205 nasopharyngeal swab specimens from Lviv Regional Infectious Disease Hospital inpatients with suspected ARI were examined by PCR. Also, from November 2022 to April 2023, 392 samples from the above-described patients were also examined for influenza. Covid-19 was laboratory confirmed in 1238 cases (29.5%). The age of the patients ranged from 2 to 94 years. One of the highest levels of laboratory-confirmed cases was recorded in January 2022 where 309 positive out of 578 collected cases (53.5%), with a decrease to 10% in June. An increase of morbidity was observed in August (46.8%) and September (56.5%). Since October, a decrease in the indicator (32.2%) was registered, followed by a drop in the level of laboratory-confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease to 5.2% in November and 1.9% in December. Since January 2023, there has been an increase in incidence rates with a peak (39.5%) in February and a subsequent gradual decline to 17.6% in April 2023. However, since November, the number of confirmed cases of influenza has increased sharply to 53.4% and 35.3% in December. Hospitalized patients with influenza had a severe course of the disease. Three patients had positive tests for Coronavirus and influenza A at the same time. From January to April 2023, no laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza A were reported, which corresponds to the increase in the incidence of Covid-19. Thus, in the structure of ARI, along with the coronavirus, the type A influenza virus plays an active role, both in terms of the number of cases and the severity of the course. That is, it can be possible that these pathogens compete with each other

У структурі захворюваності на гострі респіраторні інфекційні хвороби поряд з COVID-19, захворюваність на який в 2022 році наближалась до показників сезонних респіраторних хвороб, активну роль в епідемічному процесі восени 2022 року відігравав вірус грипу типу А, як за кількістю випадків, так і за важкістю перебігу. Ймовірно, ці два збудники конкурують між собою за популяцію. В осінній період 2022 року вірус грипу повернувся в екологічну нішу, у якій протягом 2020-2022 років стійко утримувався SARS-CoV-2

Background: The high rate of infection with COVID-19 in patients worldwide and Europe, and mutation of viruses have led to the emergence of variants of SARS-CoV-2. On November 26, 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529, or Omicron variant, was recognized as a new Variant of Concern (VOC). We hypothesized that the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Ukraine followed the prevalence of Delta and Omicron in Europe. To test this hypothesis, we performed a retrospective study to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating among patients hospitalized at Lviv Regional Infectious Diseases Hospital (LRIDH) in 2022.

Methods: From January 2022 to October 2022, 994 LRIDH inpatients were PCR positive for COVID-19. From these positive samples, 225 were selected for further analysis by the randomization method. Samples represented three stages. Stage 1 positive samples included the months of January and February. Stage 2 samples included the months of July and August, and stage 3 samples were from October of 2022. The presence SARS-CoV-2 spike S371L/ S373P mutations (Omicron, B.1.1.529) and the presence of Spike T478K mutations (Delta, B.1.617.2) were determined using VirSNiP SARS-CoV-2 Spike S371L S373P and "VirSNiP SARS-CoV-2 Spike T478K (TIB MOLBIOL LightMix, Germany). Testing was performed at the virological reference laboratory of the Public Health Center in Kyiv city, Ukraine. Statistical analysis was conducted using Chi-square tests.

Results: For stage 1, (January and February 2022) 75 samples (33.3%) were examined. Of these, 54 (72%) were Omicron and 16 (21.3%) were Delta. No mutation was detected in 5 samples (6.7%) (Ct˃30). Omicron (without sub-lineage) was found in 17 samples (31.5%), BA.1 sub-lineage in 21 samples (38.9%), BA.2 sub -lineage 10 samples (18.5%), and in 6 samples (11.1%) BA.2/BA.3 sub-lineage. In stage 2, 142 samples (63.1%) were examined. Of these, 134 (94.4%) were Omicron, and for 8 (5.6%), no mutation was detected. Omicron BA.2 was identified in 128 (95.5%) of these samples. In stage 3, (October 2022) 8 samples (3.6%) were examined. All were Omicron and BA.5.1 was found in 3 samples (37.5%), BA.5.2 in 1 sample (12.5%), BA.5.2.1 in 2 samples (25%) and in 2 samples (25%) BA.5.2.6.

Conclusions:Studying the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and detecting its mutation makes it possible to predict the severity of the disease and the effectiveness of vaccination. The results are consistent with our hypothesis that in Ukraine, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants were consistent with Europe. The obtained results showed that the viruses circulating in Ukraine belong to the global genetic line B originating from China with a slight shift in time. In Ukraine, these tests can be performed routinely to assess the epidemiological situation and prevent the increase of the SARS-CoV-2 morbidity.

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Вступ. У деяких регіонах Львівщини захворюваність на лептоспіроз перевищує показник 10/100 тис. населення. Відтак, визначення зон ризику інфікування цією недугою у Львівській області є актуальним з огляду на потребу в прогнозуванні епідситуації щодо цього захворювання.

Мета роботи. Метою нашої роботи була оцінка територіального поширення лептоспірозу та встановлення територій високого ризику інфікування цією недугою у Львівській області із застосуванням геокартографічних систем.

Методи. За допомогою геоінформаційної системи з використанням програми QGIS 2.0.1, на основі попередньо створеної електронної структурованої бази даних із внесеною в неї інформацією із використанням програми Microsoft Excel (дані за 2008-2019 рр.) проведено аналіз щодо випадків лептоспірозу у людей та зараженості мишовидних гризунів на території Львівщини.

Результати. За допомогою ГІС-технологій проведено пошарове нанесення даних на карту Львівської області – випадків захворювання на лептоспіроз у людей (n=259) та зараженості мишовидних гризунів (n=3524) із врахуванням географічних координат по кожному конкретному випадку. Виявлено, що найвищою зараженість гризунів є у Лісостеповій зоні – 13,16%, проти 10,66% у Лісовій зоні та 10,26% у зоні Українських Карпат (р < 0,05). Подібну закономірність виявлено й щодо захворюваності на лептоспіроз у людей: вірогідно частіше випадки хвороби фіксувались у Лісостеповій зоні – 62,94%, порівняно з Лісовою зоною (24,32%) та зоною Українських Карпат (12,74%), р < 0,001.

Висновки. Застосування ГІС-технологій дало змогу отримати просторове уявлення про розповсюдженість лептоспірозу на Львівщині. Проведене зонування території Львівської області, на основі ландшафтно-географічного розподілу, дало змогу визначити, що територією найвищого ризику зараження лептоспірозом для людей є лісо-степова зона Львівщини.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects both humans and animals worldwide. Clinical symptoms of leptospirosis in humans range widely, from mild to severe illness, with symptoms that can include severe jaundice, acute renal failure, hemorrhagic pneumonia, and meningitis. We present a detailed clinical description of a 70-year-old man with leptospirosis. This case presented without the typical prodromal period for leptospirosis, thus making diagnosis more difficult. This isolated case occurred in the Lviv region during the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine where Ukrainian citizens have been forced to hide in premises that are not properly adapted for their long-term stay, which result in conditions that can potentially lead to the emergence of many infectious diseases. This case highlights the need for heightened awareness into the symptoms of a variety of infectious diseases, including but not limited to leptospirosis.