Dynamics of Salmonellosis in Ukraine in the Conditions of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Salmonellosis is a common disease in all countries. According to the WHO, Salmonella is one of the four causes of diarrheal diseases worldwide and 60-80% cases of these diseases are not registered because they have mild course of disease. The food route of transmission of this infection is the main factor in the spread of salmonellosis among the population. Carrying out preventive and control measures are important condition for preventing an increase in the number of cases of this disease, which is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. An integral part of prevention is predicting the prevalence of this disease using modern technologies and conducting a retrospective epidemiological analysis, which was used to analyze the incidence of salmonellosis in Ukraine. Materials and methods. The data of the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine were used as materials in the article. In Ukraine, the incidence rate of salmonellosis was 19.26 cases per 100 thousand population over the period from 2015 to 2019. After reducing the incidence in 2017 (an incidence rate of 17.4 per 100 thousand population), there was the growth of number of this disease cases in Ukraine in the next years. In 2019, the incidence rate of salmonellosis was 20.3 per 100 thousand population. In 2019, the proportion of cases among adults (population over 18 years old) exceeded the proportion of cases of salmonellosis among the child population. Analysis of the incidence rate of salmonellosis by regions of Ukraine showed that the highest rates were in Rivne, Volyn and Kharkiv regions – 37.17; 33.70 and 31.89 per 100 thousand of the population, respectively. In a comparative analysis of the incidence of salmonellosis for 9 months of 2019 and 9 months of 2020, it was found that since the introduction of quarantine restrictions, in April 2020, the number of cases of salmonellosis in Ukraine have doubled: for 9 months of 2019 3,235 cases (7.7 per 100 thousand of the population) were registered compared to 9 months of 2020, when 6,648 cases of salmonellosis were recorded (15.8 per 100 thousand of the population). Results and discussion. One of the reasons for the increase in morbidity is insufficient control over food items by public health services, the state service of Ukraine for food safety and consumer protection in connection with quarantine and other control measures against COVID-19. The results of a retrospective epidemiological analysis revealed an upward trend in cases of salmonellosis in Ukraine. Conclusion. Therefore, there is a need for continuous preventive and control measures to prevent the occurrence of cases of this disease in Ukraine by public health services, the state service of Ukraine for food safety and consumer protection, as well as the veterinary and sanitary service of Ukraine. These measures are especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help to avoid cross-infection of patients with salmonellosis and coronavirus disease, which can lead to very serious consequences