A. baumannii bacteria are gram-negative, catalase-positive, oxidase-negative, non-fermenting coccobacilli that cause a wide range of local and systemic purulent-inflammatory processes. Genetic variants of bacteria that are highly resistant to antibiotics and cause healthcare-associated infections have acquired the greatest clinical significance. Multidrugresistant bacteria are widespread in medical institutions in different countries and pose a significant public health problem.

We studied 53 isolates of A. baumannii isolated from patients in intensive care wards and surgical departments. Molecular genetic methods – multilocus sequencing-typing and real-time PCR – established the spectrum of sequence types (ST) and clonal complexes (CC), as well as carriers of extended type beta-lactamase resistance genes, metallo-beta-lactamases and serine carbapenemase.

The isolates studied by the MLST method belonged to 4 clonal complexes: CC109, CC92, CC944 and CC110. The genetic structure of the dominant CC109 is represented by the following sequence types – ST2550, ST231, ST441. CC92 united ST168, ST450 and ST195. The minor CCs included CC944 and CC110.

The phylogenetic analysis has established that the ancestral ST of cluster I is ST229, evolving to form sequence types ST195, ST450, as well as ST2563 and ST1103. Cluster 2 is formed on the basis of ST2182 evolving with the formation of two branches ST2564 and ST441.

The analysis of the relationships between STs and CCs depending on the region of the country showed that isolates related to ST2550 (CC109) are more common in the Gomel, Mogilev, Minsk and Grodno regions, and ST231 (CC109) isolates are more common in the Vitebsk, Grodno and Mogilev regions.

The object of study was to investigate the clinical and laboratory characteristics, the outcomes of the disease, the susceptibility to antibiotics and to different combinations in the patients with pneumonia caused by K. pneumoniae associated and not associated with COVID-19.

We analysed 93 cases of pneumonia with K. pneumoniae detected in biological materials including 65 ones with COVID-19 and 28 ones without COVID-19.

In the both groups, the diseases of the circulatory system and metabolic disorders were the most common concomitant conditions. The laboratory data were not statistically different. The lethal outcomes were found reliably more often in the patients with COVID-19 (66 % vs 32 %).

 K. pneumoniae was detected predominantly after the tenth day of admission to the hospital (nosocomial strains). In the both groups, the majority of detected K. pneumoniae strains had a multiple resistance to antibiotics. The combinations of antibiotics with no colistin demonstrated a low efficacy, including those with carbapenems. A proportion of 40 (61.5 (48.6–73.3) %) K. pneumoniae samples isolated from patients with COVID-19 had carbopenemases detected.

The results of the study refer to the preferability of the colistin comprising the schemes of antibiotics for treatment  of pneumonia caused by K. pneumoniae associated and not associated with COVID-19.

Post-COVID syndrome is diagnosed if symptoms last longer than 3 weeks after the onset of the disease,  and a chronic course of the disease is determined if symptoms persist for more than 12 weeks. The investigation considered patients’ complaints and the presence of infection in the oral cavity following COVID-19 and, based on this, evaluated the influence of distant symptoms on the risk of developing dental pathology. All subjects were interviewed using the most commonly used questionnaire OHIP-14, which determines the level of quality of life related to dental health. The most frequent complaint was a feeling of dryness in the oral cavity, which was reported by 30.04 % of the subjects (1.64 % in the control group). More than 24.90 % of patients who had COVID-19 noted loss of taste sensation (in the control group ‒ 1.64 %). Clinical oral examination of COVID-19 patients revealed such oral mucosal lesions as erythema, papules, vesicles, as well as periodontal and salivary gland disorders.

Sphenoid sinus is one of four air-filled spaces inside cranium bones, which drain into the nasal cavity. It has high individual anatomical variability, including sexual dimorphism, ethnic and geographic variations in morphometric parameters.

The purpose of the study was to establish the dependence of the morphometric parameters of the sphenoid sinus on its extent in the dorsal and lateral directions.

Сone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data of 245 patients (98 males and 147 females, mean age 37 ± 13 years) who received dental and ENT care at a private medical center in Minsk in 2023–2024 were assessed.

The postsellar type of the sphenoid sinus was more frequent in males and females (71.4 and 66.6 %, respectively). The volume of the sinus in the present study varied between 3.4–37.5 cm³. It was larger in males. In patients under 30 years of age, the volume and width of the sphenoid sinus were significantly larger compared to patients 31–84 years old. All linear dimensions of the sinus were significantly larger in the postsellar type. The width and volume of the sinus were significantly larger as lateral expansion into the greater wings of the sphenoid occurred. In 56.7 % of patients, the sphenoid sinus was divided by the septum into right and left parts, most often asymmetric. In 11.0 % of cases, one air cavity was detected. In 32.3 %  of patients, in addition to the main septum, accessory septa were present, which in about half the cases were inserted at the wall  of carotid prominence.

Due to the high variability of the morphometric parameters of the sphenoid sinus, when considering the possibility  of an endoscopic transsphenoidal approach to the skull base, a thorough preoperative CBCT examination of the sinuses  is recommended.

Despite the successes achieved in treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), tactics still need to be  improved, especially when forming new organized collectives of military personnel.

The purpose of the study was to examine clinical and immunological features of action of an immunotropic drug of bacterial origin Immunovac-VP-4 in complex treatment of mild community-acquired pneumonia in newly recruited military personnel.

The study included 35 patients (main group 1) hospitalized with mild CAP who, in addition to basic antibacterial therapy, were treated with the Immunovac-VP-4 vaccine. Control group 2 consisted of 53 patients who received only basic antibacterial therapy. Immunovac-VP-4 contains lysates of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli and was prescribed according to the nasal-subcutaneous regimen from 1 to 13 days of hospital stay. The mechanism  of action is based on activating key effectors of innate and adaptive immunity.

 In the main group there were an increase of respiratory function indicators, production of IgG antibodies to all antigens of the drug, a relative decrease in IL-6 and IFN-γ concentration in blood serum after administration of a bacterial immunomodulator.

Including the multicomponent antibacterial vaccine in subcutaneous-nasal regimen in complex treatment of mild CAP can be recommended as one of the treatment methods leading to the normalization of inflammatory mediators and the prevention of respiratory infections in this cohort of patients.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have unique functional properties, one of which is the chondrogenic differentiation. This population of cells is being used in clinical practice for repairing cartilage tissue. Various combinations of growth factors promote the expression of markers of hyaline cartilage, but also induce hypertrophy’s markers. There  is evidence that ascorbic acid can promote chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs by increasing the transcription of Col2, so we have studied when adding ascorbic acid to the differentiation medium to the previously developed cytokine cocktail in order to obtain a hyaline-like matrix. There is a different time of induction of chondrogenesis in MSCs, so we assumed to reduce the induction period of chondrogenic pre-differentiation of MSCs. Based on our studies we confirmed a positive effect of ascorbic acid on the expression of Col2, which indicates the possibility of obtaining strong and stable chondrogenic differentiation  of MSCs. The analysis of the expression of genes-markers of chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs and the synthesis  of extracellular matrix components on the 4th and 7th days showed a possibility of reducing the pre-differentiation period  to 4 days.

Expression indices of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) of types 2 and 9 and polymorphism of MMP-2, MMP-9 and their tissue inhibitor (TIMP-2) genes in placental tissue of women with early reproductive losses were determined. MMP-2 expression in placental tissue preparations was found to be significantly higher among women with recurrent miscarriage in the first trimester pregnancy than in women with normal pregnancy. Associations of the mutant T allele of the 735 C/T polymorphism of the MMP-2 gene and the mutant C allele of the 418 G/C polymorphism of the TIMP-2 gene with  a high level of matrix MMP-2 expression were found. The level of MMP-9 expression in the placenta of women with recurrent miscarriage and with physiological pregnancy was not statistically significantly different.

Coxsackie virus B5 is the most frequently detected enterovirus in Belarus over the past 20 years. Its dominance was accompanied by a significant genetic diversity: 12 genetic variants of the virus belonging to 2 previously identified genogroups and 5 subgenogroups (A1, A3, A4, B1, B2) were identified. Genetic variants of the virus belonging to different genogroups and subgenogroups circulated simultaneously throughout the entire observation period. Genetic variants had 3 main circulation patterns: long-term circulation within the country for 7‒15 years, long-term global circulation with periodic introductions in Belarus, short-term circulation for 1‒3 years followed by extinction. The countries of origin of the most resent common ancestor are China, France, and Belarus (for 8 of 12 studied genovariants, the probability was 89–100 %). The time interval between the divergence of genetic variants from the most recent common ancestor and its detection in the population was 3.1 ± 1.2 years. All amino acid substitutions found in different genetic variants were previously revealed in various strains of the virus circulating in other countries of the world and were described as neutral.
Further enterovirus molecular surveillance will expand our knowledge about the virus concerning evolutionary patterns and general epidemic processes.