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Background: It is necessary to use an effective vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic. CoronaVac vaccine is used in our country and we aimed to examine the level of antibody development after the second dose.Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional research. The data of the people, who applied to a university hospital between January and March 2021, were analyzed. Those who had SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM measurement in the previous two weeks before the CoronoVac vaccine, and those who were both found negative and who had SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM measurement after the second dose of CoronaVac vaccine were included in the research. SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM were measured by VIDAS® (BioMérieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France) device for the detection of spike protein specific IgG/IgM of SARS-CoV-2 in human serum with ELFA (Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay) technique.Results: 75 people were included in this research. It was found that the individuals had SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM measurements between 14 and 21 days after the first dose of CoronaVac vaccine. It was observed that 12% (n = 9) of the cases had a history of COVID-19. The rate of positivity for SARS CoV-2 IgG level after vaccination was 100%.Conclusions: It can be said that two doses of CoronaVac vaccine create an effective humoral immunity.

Background:The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major causes of chronic liver disease. From the perspective of hospital workers (HWs), employees are at risk of hepatitis B infection because of occupational exposure. Apart from this occupational risk, health professionals may still be affected by HBV, depending on the epidemiological characteristics of the country and geographical region they live in.Objectives: This study aimed to determine HBV, HCV, and HIV seroprevalence among HWs using data obtained from 21 hospitals located in six geographical regions in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective, multicentre, descriptive study. Twenty hospitals from Turkey and one hospital from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus were involved in the study. The variables of the study were vaccination status against HBV and hepatitis A and HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBcIgG, anti-HAV IgG, anti-HCV, anti-HDV, and anti-HIV serology results belonging to the previous year.Results: Women constituted 58.9% (n = 5,622) of the HWs included in the study. The mean age was 36.3 ± 9.09 years (min = 18, max = 72). In terms of occupation, 42.5% (n = 4,064) were nurses/health officers, and 24.8% (n = 2365) were physicians. HBsAg seroprevalence was found to be 1.8% (n = 169; 95% CI = 1.5% -2.0%), while anti-HBs seropositivity was 75.7% (n = 7,234). About 7.3% (n = 701) had natural immunity to hepatitis B. About 21.6% (n = 2,066) of the HWs did not receive hepatitis B vaccine. Conclusions: This study is the first study involving a large sample size from different locations of Turkey. According to the results, hepatitis B and hepatitis A vaccines should be administered to susceptible individuals and HWs.

Introduction: Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis , a gram-negative, facultative, intracellular coccobacillus. It can occur in different clinical forms, and the most common form in our country (Turkey) is the oropharyngeal form. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of lymphadenitis caused by tularemia is delayed unless it is suspected, especially in sporadic cases. Our aim is to remind clinicians to have tularemia among differentials of lymphadenitis. Methods: In this study, the clinical and laboratory findings of 16 tularemia patients between 2011 and 2021 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: The mean age of the 16 patients included in the study was 39 years, and 62.5% were female. The patients were diagnosed with tularemia on the average 31st day of their complaints. The rate of use of beta-lactam group antibiotics before diagnosis was 74%. About 81.25% of the patients were engaged in animal husbandry/farming, and living in rural areas (93.75%) and farming (81.25%) were the most common possible risk factors. The patients were admitted to the hospital with the most common complaints of enlarged lymph nodes (100%), fatigue (62.5%) and loss of appetite (56.25%). All patients had lymphadenopathy, and the most common location of lymphadenopathy was the cervical region (81.25%). Moxifloxacin (56.25%) was used most frequently in the treatment of tularemia, and surgical drainage was performed for 31% of the patients. Conclusion: The diagnosis of tularemia is often delayed unless clinical suspicion is high. Delayed diagnosis may lead to unnecessary frequent use of antibiotics, especially beta-lactam group antibiotics. As the diagnosis is delayed, since lymph node suppuration is common, surgical intervention may be required. This situation can cause extra burden for both patients and the health system. It may be beneficial to organize trainings to increase awareness among physicians and society in order to make the diagnosis early.

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