Background/Aim. For the first time, we evaluated and presented the socio-demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations and laboratory findings of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients from Canton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods. This retrospective, single-centre study included 159 RT-PCR verified COVID-19 patients (92 mild/moderate; 67 severe/critical) consecutively hospitalized at the General Hospital "Prim. dr Abdulah Nakaš" in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Socio-demographic, clinical, and laboratory data on admission were retrospectively obtained from each patient's electronic medical record and patient files by two experienced physicians. Results. 43.4% of the patients belonged to the age range of 46-65 years; 71.1% were men, and 68.6% had comorbidities; hypertension was the most prevalent comorbidity (100%), followed by diabetes (91.7%) and ischemic heart disease (35.8%). The leading clinical symptoms were fever (87.44%), tiredness (77.8%), and body/muscle aches (70.3%). There was significant reduction of blood oxygen saturation (p = 0.005), and significant elevation of D-dimer (p = 0.003), CRP (p = 0.044), and fasting plasma glucose (p = 0.047) in the severe/critical patients group compared to mild/moderate group. Conclusion. Older age, the male gender, confirmed comorbidities, decreased blood oxygen saturation, increased levels of CRP, D-dimer, and fasting plasma glucose, together with symptoms of chest pain/shortness of breath and/or diarrhea occurred more frequently in severe/critical than mild/moderate COVID-19 patients.

Streptococcosis causes economic losses due to the high mortality in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). The present study was carried out to detect the streptococci by PCR and chemical analysis in cultured tilapia fish. A total of 100 cultured tilapia fishes and 20 water samples were collected from 4 different fish farms at different locations in Kafr El-sheikh Governorate for bacteriological and chemical analysis. The results of water quality parameters examination revealed that the mean values of pH, dissolved oxygen, unionized ammonia, and nitrite were 8.2 ± 0.73, 7.44 ± 0.54 parts per million (ppm), 0.05 ± 0.008 ppm, and 0.00 ppm, respectively. All water quality parameters except for ammonia were within the permissible limit. The bacterial isolation results revealed 38 % positive samples for Streptococcus species isolated from tilapia fishes and 40 % were positive for Streptococcus species isolated from water samples. Of those 38 positive fish samples, 25 (65.78%) were Enterococcus faecalis, 15 (39.47%) were Streptococcus pyogenes, 6 (15.78%) were Enterococcus faecium, 5 (13.15 %) were Streptococcus agalactiae, and 3 (7.89 %) were Streptococcus iniae. On the other hand, from 8 positive farms water samples, 7 (87.5%) were Enterococcus faecalis, 2 (25%) were Streptococcus pyogenes , 2 (25%) were Enterococcus faecium, 3 (37.5%) were Streptococcus agalactiae, and 1 (12.5%) was Streptococcus iniae . Using mPCR to identify Streptococcus for some fish and water isolates, 6 Enterococcus faecalis with 310 base per (bp) were detected while 3 Streptococcus agalactiae with 153 bp and 2 Enterococcus faecium at 215 bp were detected. However, the mPCR from Streptococcus species directly from organs from fish and water samples revealed that 5 Enterococcus faecalis were detected at 310 bp while 2 Streptococcus agalactiae was identified at 153 bp. The biochemical results indicated that the infected fish with the streptococcal species had reduced total protein, albumin, and globulin in the blood serum while total cholesterol, urea, creatinine levels, and AST, ALT, GPX, CAT, SOD activities significantly increased, compared to noninfected fish. O R IG IN A L A R T IC L E p i: S 2 3 2 2 4 5 6 8 2 0 0 0 0 3 7 -1 0 R eeiv ed : 1 1 Ju l 2 0 2 0 A ccep ed : 2 0 A u g 2 0 2 0

Abstract Background: Many destructive and immunotherapeutic modalities have been used for the management of plantar warts; however, an optimal treatment with high efficacy and absent or low recurrence has not been explored to date. Tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) shown promising results for treatment of viral warts without ablation. Aim of Study: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intralesional (IL) PPD in the treatment of plantar warts. Patients and Methods: Twenty patients with plantar warts were included in this study and divided into two equal groups; group I was treated using IL tuberculin PPD every 2 weeks, group II was treated with IL saline every 2 weeks, till complete clearance or for a maximum of 3 sessions. The patients were followed-up for a period of 6 months. Results: There was a statistically highly significant im-provement in the therapeutic group compared with control group. This modality was well tolerated, with no remarkable side effects and no recurrence in cured patients during follow up period. A significant positive correlation existed between the number of sessions and treatment response. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of lesions and response to treatment. Conclusion: Intralesional PPD is safe and effective treat-ment alternative for the treatment of plantar warts even if they are recalcitrant or multiple, with no post-procedural downtime and better results and patient satisfaction.