Introduction: Airborne infections are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Newly emerging at the end of 2019, in the city of Wuhan, China, a respiratory infection caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has led to a serious spread among the population covering almost all countries around the world. High mortality and severe economic and social consequences caused the imposition of restrictive measures, which have led to a decline in the spread of infections with mass immunoprophylaxis: rubella, mumps, whooping cough, and measles.
Objective: To perform an epidemiological analysis of the peculiarities of the epidemiological process in airborne infections in the Varna region and the Republic of Bulgaria after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: Official data from the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) in Varna and data from the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD) on acute infectious diseases in the Republic of Bulgaria were used. Epidemiological, mathematical, and statistical methods, as well as others, were used during the processing of the information.
Results: In the pre-pandemic period from 2017 to 2019, the prevalence of respiratory infections treated with mass immunoprophylaxis in the Varna region was relatively limited. In the Varna region, there are three registered cases of pertussis (morbidity = 0.21%ооо). The number of people infected with measles in the Varna region is 5 (morbidity = 1.06%ооо). Separate sporadic cases of mumps have been registered: 2 cases in 2017 and 2 in 2019 (morbidity = 0.63%ооо).
In the post-pandemic period from March until the end of 2021, no vaccine-preventable respiratory infections have been registered in the Varna region. In both periods, infected people were either not immunized or had an incomplete immunization status.
Conclusion: The restrictive measures implemented to control COVID-19 have resulted in a decrease in the incidence of respiratory infections with mass immunoprophylaxis.
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