[Infectious diseases in Poland in 2010].

UNLABELLED

The purpose of the study is assessment of the epidemiological condition of infectious diseases in Poland in 2010, especially in comparison with 2009 and the years 2004-2008.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The evaluation of the epidemiological situation of infectious diseases in Poland was based on analysis of data: published in the annual bulletin "Infectious diseases in Poland in 2010" and "Vaccinations in Poland in 2010"/NIPH-NIH, GIS, 2011, the data contained in 27 articles prepared for publication in the Chronicle of epidemiology for 2010; data of Demographic Research Department of the central Statistical Office (GUS) for deaths from infectious and parasitic diseases registered in 2010 and selected earlier years.

RESULTS

The most common group of diseases were respiratory diseases--despite a significant relative to 2009, a decrease of 49.1% of cases of influenza and flu-like disease. Still a major epidemiological problem in Poland is food poisoning and foodborne infections--despite the downward trend in the incidence of salmonellosis. In 2010, 9 732 cases were reported, and the incidence of salmonellosis was 25.5 to 100 000. There was an increase of gastro-intestinal infections, caused by viruses, compared to the median of the years 2004-2008 by 58.1%. Particularly important is epidemiological surveillance of the diseases covered by the immunization program. Their situation can be assessed as satisfactory. However, special attention is paid to the spread of viral hepatitis B and C, in which there was an increased incidence, respectively, by 10% and 2%. Decreased by 5.3% the number of newly registered cases of HIV infection. In 2010, total 3 044 people died in Poland due to infectious and parasitic diseases. The share of deaths from these diseases in the total number of deaths in Poland (378 478) was 0.80% - 8 deaths per 100 000. and were comparable to the data for 2009 In the last decade increased mortality due to infectious diseases was observerd, mainly due to the increase in diagnosed cases of sepsis.

CONCLUSIONS

Infectious diseases, although a small part in the overall statistics of deaths, have not ceased to be a serious public health problem. As regards epidemiological surveillance is necessary to continue the legislative work on improving its sensitivity and increase microbiologically confirmed diagnoses.