ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the cross-reactivity of COVID-19 IgG assay with known immune-mediated and infectious disorders and evaluate for any false-positive reactions to determine the specificity of the serological assay. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology, Chughtai Institute of Pathology, Lahore Pakistan, from Sep to Oct 2020. Methodology: A total of 116 samples were included in the study of both males and females. Diagnosed cases of typhoid fever, viral hepatitis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), syphilis, multiple connective tissue disorders (MCTD), varicella-zoster infection, rabies, toxoplasmosis, epstein-barr virus (EBV) infection, rubella, rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS, cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and dengue fever were included in the study. Three samples of multiparous women aged more than 40 years were also included in the study. IgG antibody levels were measured against SARS-CoV-2 with a cut-off index of 1.4. Results: Out of 116, only 3 (2%) samples were reactive for IgG against SARS-CoV-2. The categories showing cross-reactivity were typhoid, hepatitis C, and CMV. All specimens showing cross-reactivity were of females. Assay under consideration showed a specificity of 97.4%. Conclusion: Cross-reactivity was seen in pre-pandemic cases of infectious diseases with COVID-19 IgG antibody assay. Medical lab professionals must verify the serological assays before use in the clinical laboratory to avoid false-positive results. © 2021, Army Medical College. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Bangladesh is now experiencing the COVID-19 outbreak; however, there has been minimal focus on mental health over physical health problems during this pandemic in Bangladesh. The present study was conducted using self-rated scales on a sample of 500 Bangladeshi people to address this gap. Results suggested two-fifths of the participants had depression and anxiety symptoms, and one-third were highly worried and felt stressed. Females, students, unmarried, and 18-30-year-olds were in more vulnerable positions in terms of their mental health. These findings would be helpful to assess and formulate psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Anxiety/epidemiology , Anxiety/psychology , Bangladesh/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression/epidemiology , Depression/psychology , Female , Humans , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
This report describes survey findings of adult inpatients and outpatients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.
ABSTRACT
Highlight The global outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. As the number of imported SARS-CoV-2 cases is on the rise in Brazil, we use incidence and historical air travel data to estimate the most important routes of importation into the country.