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1.
Sustain Cities Soc ; 96: 104685, 2023 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2328031

ABSTRACT

There is currently a lack of studies on residential waste collection during COVID-19 in North America. SARIMA models were developed to predict residential waste collection rates (RWCR) across four North American jurisdictions before and during the pandemic. Unlike waste disposal rates, RWCR is relatively less sensitive to the changes in COVID-19 regulatory policies and administrative measures, making RWCR more appropriate for cross-jurisdictional comparisons. It is hypothesized that the use of RWCR in forecasting models will help us to better understand the residential waste generation behaviors in North America. Both SARIMA models performed satisfactorily in predicting Regina's RWCR. The SARIMA DCV model's performance is noticeably better during COVID-19, with a 15.7% lower RMSE than that of the benchmark model (SARIMA BCV). The skewness of overprediction ratios was noticeably different between jurisdictions, and modeling errors were generally lower in less populated cities. Conflicting behavioral changes might have altered the residential waste generation characteristics and recycling behaviors differently across the jurisdictions. Overall, SARIMA DCV performed better in the Canadian jurisdiction than in U.S. jurisdictions, likely due to the model's bias on a less variable input dataset. The use of RWCR in forecasting models helps us to better understand the residential waste generation behaviors in North America and better prepare us for a future global pandemic.

2.
Front Immunol ; 13: 984784, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2318356

ABSTRACT

In 2021, Qatar experienced considerable incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection that was dominated sequentially by the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants. Using the cycle threshold (Ct) value of an RT-qPCR-positive test to proxy the inverse of infectiousness, we investigated infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2 infections by variant, age, sex, vaccination status, prior infection status, and reason for testing in a random sample of 18,355 RT-qPCR-genotyped infections. Regression analyses were conducted to estimate associations with the Ct value of RT-qPCR-positive tests. Compared to Beta infections, Alpha and Delta infections demonstrated 2.56 higher Ct cycles (95% CI: 2.35-2.78), and 4.92 fewer cycles (95% CI: 4.67- 5.16), respectively. The Ct value declined gradually with age and was especially high for children <10 years of age, signifying lower infectiousness in small children. Children <10 years of age had 2.18 higher Ct cycles (95% CI: 1.88-2.48) than those 10-19 years of age. Compared to unvaccinated individuals, the Ct value was higher among individuals who had received one or two vaccine doses, but the Ct value decreased gradually with time since the second-dose vaccination. Ct value was 2.07 cycles higher (95% CI: 1.42-2.72) for those with a prior infection than those without prior infection. The Ct value was lowest among individuals tested because of symptoms and was highest among individuals tested as a travel requirement. Delta was substantially more infectious than Beta. Prior immunity, whether due to vaccination or prior infection, is associated with lower infectiousness of breakthrough infections, but infectiousness increases gradually with time since the second-dose vaccination.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Adolescent , COVID-19/prevention & control , Child , Humans , Qatar , Vaccination , Young Adult
3.
Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg ; 74(Suppl 2): 3283-3292, 2022 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2317419

ABSTRACT

To assess the virucidal effect of povidone iodine (PVP-I) on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) located in the nasopharynx and suitable dose-formulation for nasal application were the purpose of this clinical trial. This single-center, open-label randomized clinical trial with a 7-arm parallel-group design was conducted in Dhaka Medical College (DMC) Hospital. A total of 189 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed SARS CoV-2 positive cases aged 12-90 years with symptoms was sequentially enrolled following randomization. Nasopharyngeal clearance of SARS-CoV-2 was tested against PVP-I nasal irrigation (NI) at diluted concentrations of 0.4%, 0.5% and 0.6%, and PVP-I nasal spray (NS) at diluted concentrations of 0.5% and 0.6%. All groups were compared to the corresponding controls (distilled water). Written informed consent was ensured before participation. All procedures were conducted in after ethical clearance from the Ethical Review Board and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Viral clearance in a repeat RT-PCR (qualitative) was the primary outcome, and occurrence of any adverse event following administration of testing drug was considered as the secondary outcome. Analysis was performed using SPSS (Version 26). All cases were randomized into seven groups and each group consists of 27-patient. Mean age of the cases 43.98 ± 12.67 years (SD). All strength of NI were effective in nasopharyngeal clearance compared to the control (0.4%, p = 0.006; 0.5%, p < 0.001; and 0.6%, p = 0.018). Similarly, all strength of the NS is also effective than control (0.5%, p = < 0.001; and 0.6%, p ≤ 0.001). Highest nasopharyngeal clearance was observed in patients using 0.5% NI (n = 25, 92.6%, p = 0.018). Nasal irritation was the single most adverse event recorded in this trial and found in two patients using 0.4%, and 0.6% PVP-I NI, respectively. Both PVP-I NS and NI are effective for nasopharyngeal clearance in-vivo. However, further community trials are needed to repurpose these solutions as preventive agents against SARS-CoV2. Ethical clearance memo no ERC-DMC/ECC/2020/93. Trial registration NCT Identifier number NCT04549376. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-022-03106-0.

4.
Mol Divers ; 2022 May 31.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2314106

ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2 is the foremost culprit of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (nCoV-19 and/or simply COVID-19) and poses a threat to the continued life of humans on the planet and create pandemic issue globally. The 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (MPRO or 3CLPRO) is the crucial protease enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, which directly involves the processing and release of translated non-structural proteins (nsps), and therefore involves the development of virus pathogenesis along with outbreak the forecasting of COVID-19 symptoms. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 infections can be inhibited by plant-derived chemicals like amentoflavone derivatives, which could be used to develop an anti-COVID-19 drug. Our research study is designed to conduct an in silico analysis on derivatives of amentoflavone (isoginkgetin, putraflavone, 4''''''-methylamentoflavone, bilobetin, ginkgetin, sotetsuflavone, sequoiaflavone, heveaflavone, kayaflavone, and sciadopitysin) for targeting the non-structural protein of SARS-CoV-2, and subsequently further validate to confirm their antiviral ability. To conduct all the in silico experiments with the derivatives of amentoflavone against the MPRO protein, both computerized tools and online servers were applied; notably the software used is UCSF Chimera (version 1.14), PyRx, PyMoL, BIOVIA Discovery Studio tool (version 4.5), YASARA (dynamics simulator), and Cytoscape. Besides, as part of the online tools, the SwissDME and pKCSM were employed. The research study was proposed to implement molecular docking investigations utilizing compounds that were found to be effective against the viral primary protease (MPRO). MPRO protein interacted strongly with 10 amentoflavone derivatives. Every time, amentoflavone compounds outperformed the FDA-approved antiviral medicine that is currently underused in COVID-19 in terms of binding affinity (- 8.9, - 9.4, - 9.7, - 9.1, - 9.3, - 9.0, - 9.7, - 9.3, - 8.8, and - 9.0 kcal/mol, respectively). The best-selected derivatives of amentoflavone also possessed potential results in 100 ns molecular dynamic simulation (MDS) validation. It is conceivable that based on our in silico research these selected amentoflavone derivatives more precisely 4''''''-methylamentoflavone, ginkgetin, and sequoiaflavone have potential for serving as promising lead drugs against SARS-CoV-2 infection. In consequence, it is recommended that additional in vitro as well as in vivo research studies have to be conducted to support the conclusions of this current research study.

6.
Wireless Personal Communications ; : 2017/01/01 00:00:00.000, 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2289756

ABSTRACT

A serious effect on people's life, social communication, and surely on medical staff who were forced to monitor their patients' status remotely relying on the available technologies to avoid potential infections and as a result reducing the workload in hospitals. this research tried to investigate the readiness level of healthcare professionals in both public and private Iraqi hospitals to utilize IoT technology in detecting, tracking, and treating 2019-nCoV pandemic, as well as reducing the direct contact between medical staff and patients with other diseases that can be monitored remotely.A cross-sectional descriptive research via online distributed questionnaire, the sample consisted of 113 physicians and 99 pharmacists from three public and two private hospitals who randomly selected by simple random sampling. The 212 responses were deeply analyzed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation.The results confirmed that the IoT technology can facilitate patient follow-up by enabling rapid communication between medical staff and patient relatives. Additionally, remote monitoring techniques can measure and treat 2019-nCoV, reducing direct contact by decreasing the workload in healthcare industries. This paper adds to the current healthcare technology literature in Iraq and middle east region an evidence of the readiness to implement IoT technology as an essential technique. Practically, it is strongly advised that healthcare policymakers should implement IoT technology nationwide especially when it comes to safe their employees' life.Iraqi medical staff are fully ready to adopt IoT technology as they became more digital minded after the 2019-nCoV crises and surely their knowledge and technical skills will be improved spontaneously based on diffusion of innovation perspective.

7.
Ann Med Surg (Lond) ; 85(4): 868-874, 2023 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2291669

ABSTRACT

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common causes of abdominal pain in children. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a delay in presentation to the emergency department and a higher rate of complicated appendicitis were observed. Traditionally, operative management (laparoscopic or open appendectomy) was thought to be the best treatment strategy for acute appendicitis. However, nonoperative management with antibiotics has gained popularity in managing pediatric appendicitis during the COVID-19 era. The pandemic has posed significant challenges in the management of acute appendicitis. Cancellation of elective appendectomies, delay in seeking care due to fear of contracting COVID-19 infection, and impact of COVID-19 infection in the pediatric population have resulted in higher rates of complications. Furthermore, multiple studies have reported multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children mimicking acute appendicitis, subjecting patients to unnecessary surgery. Therefore, it is imperative to update the treatment guidelines for the management of acute appendicitis in the pediatric population during and after COVID-19 times.

8.
Groundwater for sustainable development ; 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2262351

ABSTRACT

The ongoing COVID-19 contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 has disrupted global public health, businesses, and economies due to widespread infection, with 676.41 million confirmed cases and 6.77 million deaths in 231 countries as of February 07, 2023. To control the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, it is crucial to determine the potential determinants such as meteorological factors and their roles. This study examines how COVID-19 cases and deaths changed over time while assessing meteorological characteristics that could impact these disparities from the onset of the pandemic. We used data spanning two years across all eight administrative divisions, this is the first of its kind––showing a connection between meteorological conditions, vaccination, and COVID-19 incidences in Bangladesh. We further employed several techniques including Simple Exponential Smoothing (SES), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with explanatory variables (ARIMAX), and Automatic forecasting time-series model (Prophet). We further analyzed the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on daily cases and deaths. Data on COVID-19 cases collected include eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh spanning March 8, 2020, to January 31, 2023, from available online servers. The meteorological data include rainfall (mm), relative humidity (%), average temperature (°C), surface pressure (kPa), dew point (°C), and maximum wind speed (m/s). The observed wind speed and surface pressure show a significant negative impact on COVID-19 cases (−0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62 to −0.21) and (−1.31, 95%CI: 2.32 to −0.29), respectively. Similarly, the observed wind speed and surface pressure show a significant negative impact on COVID-19 deaths (−0.87, 95% CI: 1.54 to −0.21) and (−3.11, 95%CI: 4.44 to −1.25), respectively. The impact of meteorological factors is almost similar when vaccination information is included in the model. However, the impact of vaccination in both cases and deaths model is significantly negative (for cases: 1.19, 95%CI: 2.35 to −0.38 and for deaths: 1.55, 95%CI: 2.88 to −0.43). Accordingly, vaccination effectively reduces the number of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities in Bangladesh. Thus, these results could assist future researchers and policymakers in the assessment of pandemics, by making thorough efforts that account for COVID-19 vaccinations and meteorological conditions. Graphical Image 1

9.
Heliyon ; 9(3):e14499-e14499, 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2282870

ABSTRACT

Background During the 21st century, pandemics have emerged frequently and become more challenging. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is among the most prominent examples. A considerable public health issue following the pandemic is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). COVID-19-recovered patients are highly susceptible to developing PTSD. Earlier epidemic studies showed a high prevalence of trauma-exposed people as a result of infectious diseases. This research aimed to quantify the estimated prevalence of PTSD and its contributing variables among COVID-19-recovered patients in Bangladesh. Methods This was a cross-sectional research carried out through an e-survey comprising 326 individuals (69.0% male;mean age = 37.97 ± 13.02 years;age range = 18–76 years) and conducted between September 2020 to January 2021. The online survey included a section for gathering participant's informed permission as well as sections on key demographics and way of life, and social supports during the suffering period from acute COVID-19, as well as a PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) to examine PSTD. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were performed. Results: The prevalence estimates of PTSD ranged between 36 and 41% based on three predefined cut-offs. As per multiple linear regression analysis, PTSD was much more common among those who took part and reported being middle-aged/older adults (≥40 years), having lower S.E.S., and who slept more (>9 h/day). In addition, PTSD was negatively associated (p <0.05) with the social support of family members/friends/relatives, and colleagues in working settings;while positively correlated with health care providers. Conclusion: The current investigation revealed a considerably higher level of PTSD among COVID-19-recovered patients. The findings suggest extending the mental health services, other covariates, and immediate intervention among national and international COVID-19 recovered patients.

10.
Heliyon ; 9(3):e13912-e13912, 2023.
Article in English | EuropePMC | ID: covidwho-2249210

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the augmentation of students' engagement in the online learning process using Zoom platform. To engage students more in the online classes we have conducted a survey on four universities students in the four dimensions. To investigate effective online class, we have gone through descriptive statistics followed by principal component analysis (PCA) and factor regression model to identify predicted factors that engage students more in the Zoom online classes. The results of PCA confirmed that questions answer session, instructor asks question to them, break during the class, topic related examples, experience sharing scope, case studies, using Google classroom, screen share, screen annotation, video contents share, class recording, raise hand and reactions to topics can enhance students engagement in the Zoom online classes. The regression results validate all four dimensions have significant influence on effective zoom online class that enhance students learning process. Thus, findings of this study recommend educating course instructors for ensuring all the applications of online learning process while conducting online classes. We strongly believe this course of action will engage students in the online class to enhance learning activities using Zoom platform in Bangladesh.

11.
Front Pharmacol ; 14: 1090717, 2023.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2264082

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has had a disastrous effect worldwide during the previous three years due to widespread infections with SARS-CoV-2 and its emerging variations. More than 674 million confirmed cases and over 6.7 million deaths have been attributed to successive waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections as of 29th January 2023. Similar to other RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 is more susceptible to genetic evolution and spontaneous mutations over time, resulting in the continual emergence of variants with distinct characteristics. Spontaneous mutations of SARS-CoV-2 variants increase its transmissibility, virulence, and disease severity and diminish the efficacy of therapeutics and vaccines, resulting in vaccine-breakthrough infections and re-infection, leading to high mortality and morbidity rates. Materials and methods: In this study, we evaluated 10,531 whole genome sequences of all reported variants globally through a computational approach to assess the spread and emergence of the mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. The available data sources of NextCladeCLI 2.3.0 (https://clades.nextstrain.org/) and NextStrain (https://nextstrain.org/) were searched for tracking SARS-CoV-2 mutations, analysed using the PROVEAN, Polyphen-2, and Predict SNP mutational analysis tools and validated by Machine Learning models. Result: Compared to the Wuhan-Hu-1 reference strain NC 045512.2, genome-wide annotations showed 16,954 mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. We determined that the Omicron variant had 6,307 mutations (retrieved sequence:1947), including 67.8% unique mutations, more than any other variant evaluated in this study. The spike protein of the Omicron variant harboured 876 mutations, including 443 deleterious mutations. Among these deleterious mutations, 187 were common and 256 were unique non-synonymous mutations. In contrast, after analysing 1,884 sequences of the Delta variant, we discovered 4,468 mutations, of which 66% were unique, and not previously reported in other variants. Mutations affecting spike proteins are mostly found in RBD regions for Omicron, whereas most of the Delta variant mutations drawn to focus on amino acid regions ranging from 911 to 924 in the context of epitope prediction (B cell & T cell) and mutational stability impact analysis protruding that Omicron is more transmissible. Discussion: The pathogenesis of the Omicron variant could be prevented if the deleterious and persistent unique immunosuppressive mutations can be targeted for vaccination or small-molecule inhibitor designing. Thus, our findings will help researchers monitor and track the continuously evolving nature of SARS-CoV-2 strains, the associated genetic variants, and their implications for developing effective control and prophylaxis strategies.

12.
Groundw Sustain Dev ; 21: 100932, 2023 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2262352

ABSTRACT

The ongoing COVID-19 contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 has disrupted global public health, businesses, and economies due to widespread infection, with 676.41 million confirmed cases and 6.77 million deaths in 231 countries as of February 07, 2023. To control the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, it is crucial to determine the potential determinants such as meteorological factors and their roles. This study examines how COVID-19 cases and deaths changed over time while assessing meteorological characteristics that could impact these disparities from the onset of the pandemic. We used data spanning two years across all eight administrative divisions, this is the first of its kind--showing a connection between meteorological conditions, vaccination, and COVID-19 incidences in Bangladesh. We further employed several techniques including Simple Exponential Smoothing (SES), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with explanatory variables (ARIMAX), and Automatic forecasting time-series model (Prophet). We further analyzed the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on daily cases and deaths. Data on COVID-19 cases collected include eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh spanning March 8, 2020, to January 31, 2023, from available online servers. The meteorological data include rainfall (mm), relative humidity (%), average temperature (°C), surface pressure (kPa), dew point (°C), and maximum wind speed (m/s). The observed wind speed and surface pressure show a significant negative impact on COVID-19 cases (-0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62 to -0.21) and (-1.31, 95%CI: 2.32 to -0.29), respectively. Similarly, the observed wind speed and surface pressure show a significant negative impact on COVID-19 deaths (-0.87, 95% CI: 1.54 to -0.21) and (-3.11, 95%CI: 4.44 to -1.25), respectively. The impact of meteorological factors is almost similar when vaccination information is included in the model. However, the impact of vaccination in both cases and deaths model is significantly negative (for cases: 1.19, 95%CI: 2.35 to -0.38 and for deaths: 1.55, 95%CI: 2.88 to -0.43). Accordingly, vaccination effectively reduces the number of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities in Bangladesh. Thus, these results could assist future researchers and policymakers in the assessment of pandemics, by making thorough efforts that account for COVID-19 vaccinations and meteorological conditions.

13.
IJID Reg ; 6: 159-166, 2023 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2261874

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The global reported cumulative case-fatality ratios (rCFRs) and excess mortality rates of the 20 countries with the highest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates, the rest of the world and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) were compared before and after the commencement of vaccination programmes. Methods: A time series model was used to understand the trend of rCFR over time, and a generalized linear mixed model was used to understand the effect of vaccination on rCFR. Results: By 31 December 2022, an average of 260.3 doses of COVID-19 vaccine per 100 population had been administered in the top 20 vaccinated countries, compared with 152.1 doses in the rest of the world and 51.2 doses in SSA. The mean rCFR of COVID-19 had decreased by 69.0% in the top 20 vaccinated countries, 26.5% in the rest of the world and 7.6% in SSA. Excess mortality had decreased by 48.7% in the top 20 vaccinated countries, compared with 62.5% in the rest of the world and 60.7% in SSA. In a generalized linear mixed model, the reported number of vaccine doses administered (/100 population) (odds ratio 0.64) was associated with a steeper reduction in COVID-19 rCFR. Conclusions: Vaccine equity and faster roll-out across the world is critically important in reducing COVID-19 transmission and CFR.

14.
Vet Med Sci ; 9(2): 982-984, 2023 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2266230

ABSTRACT

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral disease that affects farm animals including water buffalo. It is caused by the contagious LSD virus, a member of the Poxiviridae family's Capripox genus. Skin sores are thought to be the most common site of infection since the virus may live for lengthy periods in lesions or scabs. The first clinical indications of LSD were described in Zambia, in 1929. Pakistan has also been afflicted by LSD, with a high number of animals infected at many cattle ranches in Karachi, 190,000 cases of LSD have been reported nationwide, with greater than 7500 deaths attributable to the illness. LSD has a huge influence on Pakistan's economic status, resulting in the loss of cattle and a decrease in milk output. The Ministry of Research and National Food Safety in Pakistan has formed a working group to create a framework for controlling the spread of LSD in cattle and buffalo. Official and private veterinarians, both field and slaughterhouse, veterinary students, farmers, cattle merchants, cattle truck drivers, and artificial inseminators should all participate in awareness efforts.


Subject(s)
Cattle Diseases , Lumpy Skin Disease , Lumpy skin disease virus , Cattle , Animals , Lumpy Skin Disease/epidemiology , Pakistan/epidemiology , Milk , Animals, Domestic , Buffaloes , Cattle Diseases/epidemiology
15.
Lancet Infect Dis ; 23(7): 816-827, 2023 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2254499

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Long-term effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA boosters in populations with different previous infection histories and clinical vulnerability profiles is inadequately understood. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a booster (third dose) vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection and against severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19, relative to that of primary-series (two-dose) vaccination over a follow-up duration of 1 year. METHODS: This observational, matched, retrospective, cohort study was done on the population of Qatar in people with different immune histories and different clinical vulnerability to infection. The source of data are Qatar's national databases for COVID-19 laboratory testing, vaccination, hospitalisation, and death. Associations were estimated using inverse-probability-weighted Cox proportional-hazards regression models. The primary outcome of the study is the effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA boosters against infection and against severe COVID-19. FINDINGS: Data were obtained for 2 228 686 people who had received at least two vaccine doses starting from Jan 5, 2021, of whom 658 947 (29·6%) went on to receive a third dose before data cutoff on Oct 12, 2022. There were 20 528 incident infections in the three-dose cohort and 30 771 infections in the two-dose cohort. Booster effectiveness relative to primary series was 26·2% (95% CI 23·6-28·6) against infection and 75·1% (40·2-89·6) against severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19, during 1-year follow-up after the booster. Among people clinically vulnerable to severe COVID-19, effectiveness was 34·2% (27·0-40·6) against infection and 76·6% (34·5-91·7) against severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19. Effectiveness against infection was highest at 61·4% (60·2-62·6) in the first month after the booster but waned thereafter and was modest at only 15·5% (8·3-22·2) by the sixth month. In the seventh month and thereafter, coincident with BA.4/BA.5 and BA.2·75* subvariant incidence, effectiveness was progressively negative albeit with wide CIs. Similar patterns of protection were observed irrespective of previous infection status, clinical vulnerability, or type of vaccine (BNT162b2 vs mRNA-1273). INTERPRETATION: Protection against omicron infection waned after the booster, and eventually suggested a possibility for negative immune imprinting. However, boosters substantially reduced infection and severe COVID-19, particularly among individuals who were clinically vulnerable, affirming the public health value of booster vaccination. FUNDING: The Biomedical Research Program and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and the Biomathematics Research Core (both at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar), Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Sidra Medicine, Qatar Genome Programme, and Qatar University Biomedical Research Center.


Subject(s)
Biomedical Research , COVID-19 , Humans , Retrospective Studies , Cohort Studies , BNT162 Vaccine , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2/genetics
16.
Am J Trop Med Hyg ; 2022 Feb 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2264520

ABSTRACT

Over 1.5 million units of blood are collected in Pakistan each year, with around 65% of this donation coming from replacement donors-relatives or close friends of the affected who willingly donate blood to support the patient. Although blood transfusion is a life-saving therapy, it also involves the danger of spreading blood-borne illnesses if not appropriately screened. It has been extensively discussed that the precise number of transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) in the Pakistani population is still unclear, and the estimates reported by the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority may be a major underestimation because of the country's lack of inexpensive and effective screening tests. Regular blood transfusions are the mainstay of treatment of patients with blood diseases such as thalassemia and anemia. They are also commonly used to handle acute injuries, surgery, bleeding, and birthing difficulties. However, the risk of getting a TTI results in an increased hesitancy among blood transfusion recipients. Hence, to reduce the occurrence of TTIs, effective and vigorous measures must be implemented.

17.
Comb Chem High Throughput Screen ; 2022 Aug 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2249205

ABSTRACT

Background SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019, causes COVID-19. Patients treated with Zyesami were found to be 3-fold decrease in respiratory failure and improvement in clinical outcome. It was reported that Zyesami inhibits RNA replication of SARS-CoV-2, including several non-structural proteins that essential in viral RNA replication. SARS-CoV-2 is a distinctive virus that required nsp10 and nsp16 for its methyltransferases activity which is crucial for RNA stability and protein synthesis. Objective We aimed the in silico determination of inhibitory consequences of Zyesami on the SARS-CoV-2 nsp10/nsp16 complex. Targeting SARS-CoV-2 nsp10/ nsp16 protein complex may be used for the development of drug against the COVID-19. Methods I-TASSER was used for secondary structure prediction of Zyesami. CABS-dock was used for modelling of Zyesami with SARS-CoV-2 nsp16 interaction. The docked complex was visualized using PyMol. The quality of the docking model was checked by using ProQdock. Results The 3D structure of SARS-CoV 2, nsp10/nsp16 showed that essential interactions exist between nsp10 and nsp16. Significant contact areas of Zyesami exist across amino acid residues of nsp10; Asn40-Thr47, Val57-Pro59, Gly69-Ser72, Cys77-Pro84, Lys93-Tyr96. In addition, polar contacts between nsp16 and Zyesami are Asn299-Ser440, Val297-Asn443, Gly149-Tyr437, Gln159-Lys430, Asn178-Arg429, Ser146-Arg429, Ser146-Arg429, Lys147-Arg429, Asr221-Thr422, Lys183-Asp423, Lys183-Asp423, and Gln219-Asp423 the residues are shown of nsp16 and Zyesami respectively. Conclusion The structural bioinformatics analyses have indicated the potential binding specificity of Zyesami and nsp16. Data predict how the initial binding of Zyesami with nsp10 and nsp16 may occur. Moreover, this binding could significantly inhibit the 2 -O-MTase activity of the SARS-CoV nsp10/16 complex.

19.
Curr Opin Environ Sci Health ; : 100396, 2022 Oct 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2241705

ABSTRACT

Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) is an efficient surveillance tool during the COVID-19 pandemic as it meets all requirements of a complete monitoring system including early warning, tracking the current trend, prevalence of the disease, detection of genetic diversity as well asthe up-surging SARS-CoV-2 new variants with mutations from the wastewater samples. Subsequently, Clinical Diagnostic Test is widely acknowledged as the global gold standard method for disease monitoring, despite several drawbacks such as high diagnosis cost, reporting bias, and the difficulty of tracking asymptomatic patients (silent spreaders of the COVID-19 infection who manifest nosymptoms of the disease). In this current reviewand opinion-based study, we first propose a combined approach) for detecting COVID-19 infection in communities using wastewater and clinical sample testing, which may be feasible and effective as an emerging public health tool for the long-term nationwide surveillance system. The viral concentrations in wastewater samples can be used as indicatorsto monitor ongoing SARS-CoV-2 trends, predict asymptomatic carriers, and detect COVID-19 hotspot areas, while clinical sampleshelp in detecting mostlysymptomaticindividuals for isolating positive cases in communities and validate WBEM protocol for mass vaccination including booster doses for COVID-19.

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