Introduction.In the Republic of Moldova, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on March 7, followed by a significantly increasing incidence across the country. It is important to describe the clinical and epidemiological aspects that were adjusted to the national context in order to develop and implement optimal public health care measures. Material and methods.A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from March 7 to April 6, 2020, using the surveillance system data of the Republic of Moldova on COVID-19 case incidence. All cases of COVID-19 were confirmed by Real-Time PCR. Results. During the reference period, 965 cases of COVID-19 were registered, whereas the urban incidence rate was 1.4 times higher than the rural one. The mean age of infected population was 45.2 years, whereas the most affected age group was 50-59 years, found in 232 cases. Healthcare workers made up 26.6±1.4% out of 965 diseased patients. They included nurses -34.2±3.0%, auxiliary medical staff -29.6±2.8%, doctors -27.2±2.8%, first-aid assistants -7.4±1.6%, pharmacists -1.2±0.7%, paramedics -0.4±0.4%. The health status of people diagnosed with COVID-19 was severe in 8.0±0.9% of cases; moderate severity -in 34.7±1.5% and satisfactorily severe -in 57.3±1.6% of cases. Conclusions. The identified clinical and epidemiological aspects allowed readjusting the public health policies in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection among the elderly and medical workers. Cuvinte cheie: COVID-19, infecție, Republica Moldova, prevenire, studiu epidemiologic. EPIDEMIOLOGIA INFECȚIEI CU NOUL TIP DE CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) ÎN PERIOADA INIȚIALĂ A PANDEMIEI ÎN REPUBLICA MOLDOVA Introducere. Primul caz de infectare cu noul tip de coronavirus COVID-19 în Republica Moldova a fost confirmat la data de 7 martie 2020, ulterior a fost înregistrată o creștere semnificativă a îmbolnăvirilor. Aspectele clinico-epidemiologice ajustate contextului național sunt necesare a fi descrise pentru elaborarea și implementarea acțiunilor optime de sănătate publică. Material și metode. Am realizat un studiu descriptiv transversal în perioada 7.03.2020 -6.04.2020, folosind datele din sistemul de supraveghere a Republicii Moldova cu privire la cazurile de infecție COVID-19, care au fost confirmate prin tehnici de biologie moleculară (Real-Time PCR). Rezultate. În perioada de referință au fost înregistrate 965 cazuri de COVID-19, mediul urban fiind afectat de 1,4 ori mai mult decât cel rural. Vârsta medie a celor infectați a fost de 45,2 ani, iar cel mai afectat grup de vârstă a fost cel de 50-59 ani -232 cazuri.

While the world is struggling with COVID-19, the ICT industry seeks to play a constructive role in combating the spread of the virus. This book contains the abstracts of the papers presented at The First Eurasian Conference; The Coronavirus Pandemic and Critical ICT Infrastructure (PANDEMIC-ICT-2020) organized by AMIR Technical Services LLC, Tbilisi, Georgia held on November 28-30, 2020.

Introduction. Currently, COVID-19 treatment includes several options, including the use of convalescent plasma. Therefore, the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in blood donors after the clinical recovery of COVID-19, depending on their place of residence, age and the clinical manifestation of the disease is of scientific-practical interest. Material and methods. A total of 119 donors among patients were examined, namely males aged 18-60 years, having a past history of COVID-19 disease, being confirmed by PCR and treated, showing a negative PCR-based test result, which was performed at least 14 days after clinical recovery. The presence/absence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. The obtained data showed that 87.4% of plasma donors responded to COVID-19 infection by anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG expression, being predominantly found in the 26-35 age group. Most donors experienced mild and medium clinical forms. It is important to note that all severe clinical manifestations of the infection were followed by formation of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. Urban living environment was predominantly found in convalescent donors (75.0%), which indicates that they are better informed by medical institutions. Conclusions. The study shows that male blood donors aged 18-60 years, subsequently cured and being positive to anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG can serve as a source of fresh plasma used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Introduction: Viral hepatitis E is considered to be an important issue for public health in developing countries. The aim of the present study is to evaluate morbidity and risk factors in occupationally exposed groups such as people working on sausage production. Methodology: Seroprevalence of HEV (hepatitis E virus) and risk factors to infection were determined in a cross-sectional study of two groups of populations: people working on sausage production (n = 70) and persons without occupational exposure (people working in the textile industry n = 70) in Moldova, a country without reported cases of hepatitis E. Results: The seroprevalence of HEV was 14.3% (CI 95%, 13.1-15.5%) in the group of exposed, compared with no cases in the non-exposed group that indicates on no previous infectious contact with hepatitis E virus. Conclusions: The increased seroprevalence of HEV among persons with occupational exposure to swine meat suggest animal-to-human transmission of this infection.