Reduce the spread risk of covid-19 based on clinical fusion data and monitoring system in wireless sensor network

The expression "COVID-19” has been the fiercest but most trending Google search since it first appeared in November 2019. Due to advances in mobile technology and sensors, Healthcare systems based on the Internet of Things are conceivable. Instead of the traditional reactive healthcare systems, these new healthcare systems can be proactive and preventive. This paper suggested a framework for real-time suspect detection based on the Internet of Things. In the early phases of predicting COVID-19, the framework evaluates the existence of the virus by extracting health variables obtained in real-time from sensors and other IoT devices, in order to better understand the behavior of the virus by collecting symptom data of COVID-19, In this paper, four machine learning models (Random Forest, Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neural Network, and Artificial Neural Network) are proposed, these data and applied as a machine learning model to obtain high diagnostic accuracy, however, it is noted that there is a problem when collecting clinical fusion data that is scarce and unbalanced, so a dataset augmented by Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) was used. Several algorithms achieved high levels of accuracy (ACC), including Random Forest (99%), and Decision Tree (99%), K-Nearest Neighbour (98%), and Artificial Neural Network (99%). These results show the ability of GANs to generate data and their ability to provide relevant data to efficiently manage Covid-19 and reduce the risk of its spread through accurate diagnosis of patients and informing health authorities of suspected cases. © 2023, American Scientific Publishing Group (ASPG). All rights reserved.

A Survey of Covid-19 Infections in Rheumatology Patients in Shropshire, Uk

Background/Aims To assess the incidence and vulnerability of rheumatology patients to COVID-19 infection in early stages of pandemic. Methods Self completed questionnaire was posted to patients. Results Patients diagnosed with rheumatic diseases were categorised as people at high risk of infection with COVID-19 (pharmacologically immunosuppressed) and with possible worsening outcomes than the general population. This study was a self-completed questionnaire which was sent to all patients registered under a National Health Services specialist rheumatology department in the UK, between May 2020 and May 2021. A total of 610 responses were received and data was analysed statistically. The aim from this survey was to assess COVID19 infection prevalence amongst rheumatology patients under the care of this department, and to examine the profiles of patients with reported COVID-19 infection, their comorbidities, rheumatoidrelated medications and infection severity and outcome. Of 610 responders diagnosed with rheumatoid diseases, 12 patients (1.96%) received a diagnosis of COVID-19 based on their clinical presentation. However, when patients undertaken a Polymerase Chain Reaction test, only 2 patients (16.6%) returned positive results. In both the COVID-19 and non-COVID groups 60% were shielding (n=361). In our sample infection rate was around 30 times (1 in 50 rheumatoid patients, 2% in the sample population) the prevailing rate for the general population in the region (75 in 100,000, 0.075% in the general population). Negative testing did not preclude the presence of disease, but this may reflect poor efficacy and reliability of testing in the early days of the pandemic. The sample means and SD+/- were 63.96/ 13.23 for age and 27.76/5.79 for BMI. Sample population characteristics presented in Table 1. Conclusion This patient group were more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection compared to the general population but appear not to be at greater risk of severe disease.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Health Staff Toward Infection Control in Teaching Hospitals in Erbil City in Iraq

Background: The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of health staff in a teaching hospital in Erbil city in Iraq. Method(s): This cross-sectional study was carried out from 1st June 2021 through 31st December 2021, involving 1200 participants of health staff. Result(s): A total of 1200 participants were included in the study. 631 (52.6%) were females (72.4%) was married, (51.9%) Physician, and (48.1%) nurses, the majority of health staff qualifications was having Bachelor's (40.1%), 934 (77.8%) of participants had been vaccinated against hepatitis B, 771 (64.3%) had a history of vaccination against covid 19 infection, half (57%) of participants had Medium knowledge about infection control while 38.8% had Good knowledge and 4.3% had poor knowledge. (78.3%) had a medium attitude about infection control while 20% had a poor attitude and 1.7% had a good attitude. More than half of the study participants (69.2%) had good practice in infection control while 26.9% had medium practice and 3.9% had poor practice. There was a significant statistical association between Knowledge level among health staff and their attitude level (P value < 0.001). A statistically significant variation between knowledge level and practice level (P value < 0.001). A statistically significant variation between attitude level and their practice level (P value < 0.001). Conclusion(s): Results of our study showed (that 57%) of participants had Medium knowledge, (78.3%) had medium attitude, (and 69.2%) had a good practice, a significant statistical association between Knowledge level and their attitude level, and a significant variation between knowledge level and their practice level, a statistically significant variation between attitude level among health staffs and their practice level (P value < 0.001).Copyright © 2023, Bahrain Medical Bulletin. All rights reserved.

Covid-19 Vaccine safety and adverse event analysis from Pakistan

Covid immunization commenced on 2nd Feb 2021 in Pakistan and as of 7th Sep 2021, over 84 million vaccine doses were administered in Pakistan, of which 72% procured by the government, 22% received through Covax and 6% were donated. The vaccines rolled out nationally included: Sinopharm, Sinovac and CanSinoBIO (China), AstraZeneca (UK), Moderna and Pfizer (USA), Sputnik (Russia), and PakVac (China/Pakistan). About half of the eligible population in Pakistan (63 m) had received at least one dose of Covid vaccine as of Sep 2021. Pakistan National Pharmacovigilance Centre (PNPC) in coordination with WHO, MHRA and Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC) established pharmacovigilance centers across Pakistan. The Covid vaccine AEFIs in Pakistan were mainly reported via NIMS (National Immunization Management System), COVIM (Covid-19 Vaccine Inventory Management System), 1166 freephone helpline and MedSafety. There have been 39,291 ADRs reported as of 30th Sept 2021, where most reported after the first dose (n = 27,108) and within 24-72 h of immunization (n = 27,591). Fever or shivering accounted for most AEFI (35%) followed by injection-site pain or redness (28%), headache (26%), nausea/vomiting (4%), and diarrhoea (3%). 24 serious AEFIs were also reported and investigated in detail by the National AEFI review committee. The rate of AEFIs reports ranged from 0.27 to 0.79 per 1000 for various Covid vaccines in Pakistan that was significantly lower than the rates in UK (~4 per 1000), primarily atrributed to underreporting of cases in Pakistan. Finally, Covid vaccines were well tolerated and no significant cause for concern was flagged up in Pakistan's Covid vaccine surveillance system concluding overall benefits outweighed risks.Copyright © 2022

How London maxillofacial units faced the demands of COVID lockdown and lessons learnt

Introduction: In the UK between the March 23, 2020 and May 10, 2020, the government enforced a lockdown. This, combined with COVID, caused OMFS hospitals across London to experience a change in staffing, resources and patient presentations. This study examines these changes, how patient care was adapted during this period and what can be learnt for the future. Method(s): Data was collected from OMFS units attached to all 4 level 1 trauma centers in London. Prospective data was collected from March 23, 2020-May 10, 2020 (1st period). Retrospective data was collected from hospital coding records for 23rd of March - May 10, 2019 (2nd period). Data was collected on all referrals to the OMFS team including diagnosis, patient demographics and treatment received. Result(s): There was an 84% reduction in patients presenting with mandible fracture. 2 units with dental emergency services experienced no change in dental abscess presentations whilst the other 2 units saw a decrease of 70-75%. There was a trend towards reducing admission and general anaesthetic treatments. Most mandible fractures were treated in the outpatient setting with 1 unit discharging 100% of mandible fractures that presented to A&E. Only 13 of 72 paediatric lacerations were treated with general anaesthetic. Conclusion(s): The COVID lockdown period, like war time, posed great challenges to healthcare provision. This paper presents the changes experienced and how patients were managed. Aiming to allow reflection and learning to guide changes in management to be adopted for the future.Copyright © 2022

Correlation between Covid-19 and the Self-Reported Presence of Audiovestibular Symptoms

Aim: The purpose of this research is to identify if the COVID-19 positive result correlates with audiovestibular symptoms. Method(s):This researchaimed to evaluate the differences in hearing, hyperacusis, tinnitus and dizziness/rotatory vertigo that was experienced by those COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized and non-hospitalized during and after the severe phase of this pandemic in comparison to those that were observed by non-COVID-19 patients who served as controls. The research found that there was a total of 300 studied patients of COVID-19, out of which 150 were severe and required hospitalization, and 150 were moderate and could be treated at home. The control group consisted of 267 persons, of whom 32 had been hospitalized for an illness that was not COVID-19, and an additional 85 worked in hospital settings. Result(s):Eight percent of COVID-19 patients had hearing loss and/or tinnitus. The difference between moderate and severe cases is not significant. Tinnitus disappeared in 2% of cases following the acute phase. When comparing patients and controls, neither hearing loss nor tinnitus was significantly different. On the other hand, five percent of people in the COVID-19 groups reported experiencing rotatory vertigo, whereas only one percent of people in the control group did so. This disparity was significant. Conclusion(s): When comparing cases of varying severity, we find no evidence that COVID-19 puts a severe effect on tinnitus or hearing during the critical phase or after recovery. On the other hand, rotatory vertigo, which may have roots in the vestibular system, maybe a clinical symptom of COVID-19. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.

The Infant Transcriptome in Meningococcal Septic Shock: A Force in Precision Cellular Dysfunction Suggesting a Cytokine Storm?

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The ideal biomarker(s) to track evolution and the underlying basis of sepsis remain elusive. We hypothesized that assessing differential mRNA gene expression may aid in tracking sepsis pathogenesis in infants with meningococcal septic shock (MSS). METHOD(S): Temporal paediatric gene expression datasets from Meningococcal Group B sepsis studies in the United Kingdom (MSS1, 29 samples) and Holland (MSS2, 41 samples) underwent Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). RESULT(S): Gene-expression clustering algorithm for both datasets demonstrated a baseline state on admission, an intermediate state, and a final state. Additionally, PCA plots suggested a gene-expression trajectory. The MSS1 study showed that 410 genes differentiated survivors from a nonsurvivor, including the ICAM-3 gene. Moreover GSEA t-Test identified apoptosis to be significantly differently (p = 0.02 and q = 0.15) associated with the fatal case compared to the four survivors in MSS1. Also in MSS1, we identified a genesignature for cytokine production which included 5 genes (CLC, HFE, HLA-F, NLRP3, TNFRSF1B) from the cytokine GSEA gene panel. The genes NLRP3 and TNFRSF1B have been noted in the cytokine storm of Coronavirus infection. Also Transcript Time Course Analysis (TTCA) confirmed differential gene function associated with Coronavirus. CONCLUSION(S): Transcriptomic analysis in two independent datasets in infants with MSS identified a trajectorial pattern. Further, the transcriptome expression differed between survivors and non-survivors, suggesting differences in cytokine signalling. Including the existence of genes associated with the cytokine storm of SARS-CoV2. The exploitability of transcriptome analysis to guide therapy and prognosis requires further investigation. (Figure Presented).

In-Vitro and in-Vivovascular Endothelial Growth Factor Subtypes a & B in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Pathogenesis

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Increased Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGFA) Gene Expression (GE) has been documented in SARS-CoV2 infection. We wished to understand the relationship of VEGFA and VEGF B GE in both Murine SARS-CoV and Human SARS-CoV-2 in-vitro models of infection. METHOD(S): Secondary analysis of datasets from mice given nasal installation of SARS-CoV (MA15), MS1 (GSE33266MCV-1) and MS2 (GSE68820) from pulmonary tissues was undertaken. This allowed viral dose and temporal response analysis, respectively. Also studied were In-vitro Human hACE2 cells infected with SARS-CoV2 (dataset INV, GSE169158). Gene expression (GE) VEGF sub-types were analysed using Qlucore Omics Explorer (QOE) and gene enrichment functional profiling through the g:Profiler online platform. RESULT(S): For Murine studies, MA15 instillation compared to controls in MS1, lead to down-regulation of both VEGFB (MA15 10

"I rather talk on the phone": Factors affecting compliance with outpatient visits during COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic presented a global publichealth crisis that demanded healthcare to adapt at an unprecedented pace. While challenging, it also created opportunities for the advancement of novel electronic-treatment-modalities. Telepsychiatry has emerged as an effective method to ensure continuity of care and ensure social distancing.1 Studies indicate that mentalhealth patients have higher rates of noncompliance to follow-up,1 thus finding means to increase compliance is critical. Objective(s): The objectives of this study are to determine the impact of telepsychiatry on compliance to follow-up and to identify numbers of psychiatric/medical emergency-room visits, most common contributing factors for admission, and compliance in terms of diagnosis. Method(s): This IRB approved study is a retrospective chart-review, that aims to study children/adolescents (5-18 years) who presented to the Child&Adolescent-Psychiatry Outpatient-clinic from July- December 2020 and engaged in telepsychiatry, compared to a group of patients presented in July-December 2019-Pre-Covid19-Pandemic. A review of clinical characteristics including diagnosis, demographic information, medication, and treatment compliance will be compared as well as admissions to inpatient-psychiatry/ emergency-room visits. Result(s): Our total sample (N=252) included patients from 2019- Pre-COVID19 (N=111) and 2020 Telehealth during COVID19- Pandemic (N=141). Our data analysis using SPSF and T-test has shown that Telehealth has significantly increased follow-up compliance (Two-tailed P-value=0.04);2019-Pre-COVID outreach mean=0.06, 2020-Telehealth-during COVID outreach mean=0.02);significantly decreased ER/CPEP visits (Pvalue= 0.02), and decreased In-patient-unit admissions (Pvalue= 0.02). Conclusion(s): According to the presented study, the incorporation of telepsychiatry has increased the compliance to psychiatric-care in outpatient and decreased the emergency-room visits and inpatient admission. Sufficient resources and steps need to be taken to further strengthen telehealth services.

Snapshot of a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric ER during Pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted numerous fundamental systems ranging from businesses to education system. The long-term consequences of the Pandemic, namely virtual learning and prolonged social isolation are coming to fruition in Child/Adolescent-Psychiatric Emergency-Rooms (CAP-ER). Discontinuity of in-person attendance of schools has poorly impacted the mental health of children and adolescents (C&A) of lowsocioeconomic areas, who often rely on schools for meals, physical activity, and mental-health support. An increase in agitation, suicidal ideation, and a declining school performance has been observed in such situations. Objective(s): The primary objective of this study is to explore the increase in these symptoms as the presenting complaint in the psychiatric ER. Method(s): Between April to June 2021 a cross-sectional quality improvement (QI) study was done on children presenting to CAP-ER BronxCare-Hospital NY with psychiatric complaints. Concomitant substance use disorder was determined using CRAFT questionnaire. Result(s): Our data comprised 209 patients (84 M/125 F) with 79 children and 130 adolescents. Ethnicity: 116 Hispanics (56%), 84 African Americans (40%), and 9 others. The most common presenting complaints were aggression (111, 53%), suicidal ideation/ suicide attempt (50, 24%), acute exacerbation of chronic illness (7, 3.3%), accidental overdosage (5, 2.3%) and others (36, 17.4). Marijuana was the most used substance (34 patients). Conclusion(s): There has been a surge in severity of presentation of psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents, aggression so far, the most prevalent. Further studies are needed to delineate the social links with this high emergent load and pandemic.

Social Media Use and Hypertension Knowledge among Undergraduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Introduction: : Malaysian hypertension prevalence is high at 30% and is the highest risk factor for mortality. Good hypertension knowledge suggests a favourable outcome. Online sources are a popular method of obtaining information especially in young adults and during the pandemic. Our objective is to determine health information seeking online, use of social media, and hypertension knowledge among undergraduate students. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FHMS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Random sampling was done. An online questionnaire with four sections: (1) socio-demographic data;(2) use of social media;(3) health information sought online;and (4) hypertension knowledge was used . Data were analysed using the SPSS version 25 using Independent T tests and one-way ANOVA to identify factors associated with hypertension knowledge. Results: Mean (SD) age of 286 respondents was 21(1.2) years. Most respondents were female, 207(73.1%), Malays, 177(61.9%) and taking the Medicine course 127(44.4) with a mean of 9.50(4.50) hours of internet usage daily. Many respondents 196(68.5%) looked for information on hypertension online. The mean score for hypertension knowledge was 8.32(1.46);classified as good knowledge. Hypertension knowledge was significantly associated with race (p<0.001), type of course (p<0.001), year of study (p<0.001) and type of health information searched online (p=0.010). Conclusion: We found significant better knowledge in Indians compared to Malays, medical students compared to biomedical sciences and occupational health, students in year 5 compared to years 1&2. Participants that searched on hypertension online had better knowledge on hypertension. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.

A Deep Learning Model for Segmentation of COVID-19 Infections Using CT scans

Computed tomography is critical in diagnosing and assessing COVID-19 infection. Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread around the world in 2020, leaving the world facing an acute health crisis. The automatic deletion of lung infection on computed tomography scan (CT) images offers great potential for improving traditional healthcare strategies for treating COVID-19. However, the detection of lesions via CT imaging faces many challenges, including high contrast in infection characteristics and low contrast intensity between infection and normal tissues. Early diagnosis is an effective way to treat this condition. Then offered a deep learning pipeline consists of three different deep learning structures for generating and segmenting computed tomography of lungs and COVID-19 infection. In addition to this image pre-processing, image magnification and parameter correction based on the color model and model similarity were used to improve the diagnostic process (medium and strong infection areas). © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.

Sero-surveillance for IgG to SARS-CoV-2 at antenatal care clinics in three Kenyan referral hospitals: Repeated cross-sectional surveys 2020-21.

INTRODUCTION: The high proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections that have remained undetected presents a challenge to tracking the progress of the pandemic and estimating the extent of population immunity. METHODS: We used residual blood samples from women attending antenatal care services at three hospitals in Kenya between August 2020 and October 2021and a validated IgG ELISA for SARS-Cov-2 spike protein and adjusted the results for assay sensitivity and specificity. We fitted a two-component mixture model as an alternative to the threshold analysis to estimate of the proportion of individuals with past SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: We estimated seroprevalence in 2,981 women; 706 in Nairobi, 567 in Busia and 1,708 in Kilifi. By October 2021, 13% of participants were vaccinated (at least one dose) in Nairobi, 2% in Busia. Adjusted seroprevalence rose in all sites; from 50% (95%CI 42-58) in August 2020, to 85% (95%CI 78-92) in October 2021 in Nairobi; from 31% (95%CI 25-37) in May 2021 to 71% (95%CI 64-77) in October 2021 in Busia; and from 1% (95% CI 0-3) in September 2020 to 63% (95% CI 56-69) in October 2021 in Kilifi. Mixture modelling, suggests adjusted cross-sectional prevalence estimates are underestimates; seroprevalence in October 2021 could be 74% in Busia and 72% in Kilifi. CONCLUSIONS: There has been substantial, unobserved transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Nairobi, Busia and Kilifi Counties. Due to the length of time since the beginning of the pandemic, repeated cross-sectional surveys are now difficult to interpret without the use of models to account for antibody waning.

The Long-Term Aspirations of Rohingya Refugees’ Families in Malaysia

The Rohingya refugees have often viewed Malaysia as open, although Malaysia is a non-signatory of the 1951 Refugees Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Hence, the number of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia had increased to more than 180000 in 2021. A fundamental problem with managing refugees in Malaysia is that there is no real policy in place and thus no real idea of how many, who, and where they are. Every year, less than one percent of the refugees have been successfully sent to a third country worldwide. The current situation has prevented the refugee resettlement matter in Malaysia from being resolved quickly;instead, it takes years and even decades for a small outcome, often without any apparent end. One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the resettlement releases to third countries worldwide decreased sharply in 2020 due to international travelling had to be stopped. Every year, less than 5 percent of the world's refugees will receive a place in a third country (UNHCR Malaysia, 2021). Therefore, it is essential to understand Rohingya refugees' long-term aspirations to prepare them for the future. The right policy is needed to prepare the refugees to resettle in a third country or eventually return to Myanmar. Therefore, this paper explores the Rohingya refugees' future aspirations and resettlement plans based on qualitative data through semi-structured interviews. This research carried out in-depth qualitative interviews with 10 Rohingya refugees currently living in Malaysia and six Rohingya refugees who have already resettled in a third country and used to stay in Malaysia as their transit country. This research discovered nine livelihood aspirations, three community aspirations, and two-family aspirations shared by the respondents. This study also found that almost all respondents aspire to resettle in a third country in the long run, but the delay in getting resettlement leaves them no choice, but to remain in Malaysia. Hence, this paper concludes that policymakers need to construct settlement programmes to help Rohingya refugees and asylums while they are still in Malaysia and prepare them to settle in the third country eventually. © 2018 Malaysian Consumer and Family.

Potential Therapeutic Approach of Melatonin against Omicron and Some Other Variants of SARS-CoV-2.

The Omicron variant (B.529) of COVID-19 caused disease outbreaks worldwide because of its contagious and diverse mutations. To reduce these outbreaks, therapeutic drugs and adjuvant vaccines have been applied for the treatment of the disease. However, these drugs have not shown high efficacy in reducing COVID-19 severity, and even antiviral drugs have not shown to be effective. Researchers thus continue to search for an effective adjuvant therapy with a combination of drugs or vaccines to treat COVID-19 disease. We were motivated to consider melatonin as a defensive agent against SARS-CoV-2 because of its various unique properties. Over 200 scientific publications have shown the significant effects of melatonin in treating diseases, with strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. Melatonin has a high safety profile, but it needs further clinical trials and experiments for use as a therapeutic agent against the Omicron variant of COVID-19. It might immediately be able to prevent the development of severe symptoms caused by the coronavirus and can reduce the severity of the infection by improving immunity.

Perception on Facilitators and Barriers to Adherence to COVID-19 Preventive Measures among Undergraduate Nursing Students at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania: a Cross-sectional Study. (preprint)

Background Considering the severity of COVID-19 and the lack of drugs to treat this pandemic, the WHO and other authorities introduced various preventive measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Despite the recommendations on adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures, communities do not adhere effectively to these preventive measures which poses a risk of speeding up the transmission of the disease and ultimately high morbidity and mortality rates. Therefore, this study aimed to assess perception of facilitators and barriers to adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures among undergraduate nursing students at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional design. 250 undergraduate nursing students were recruited by stratified sampling technique. The data were collected by structured self-administered questionnaires adapted from previous studies. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS computer software version 25. Descriptive statistics were used to describe variables including; socio-demographic characteristics, adherence to various COVID-19 preventive measures, and perception of participants on barriers and facilitators for adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Bivariate analysis was used to determine statistically significant associated variables at a p-value less than 0.05. Results This study included 250 undergraduate nursing students. The majority (32.0%) of them were in the first year. The majority (70.8%) of the participants had poor adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. The significant factors associated with adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures were the year of study (χ2=7.91, p = 0.04) and participants’ perception of barriers to adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures (χ2= 4.21, p = 0.04). The majority (93.6%) of the participants had a good perception of facilitators for adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. More than half (51.2%) of the participants had a poor perception of barriers to adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Conclusions This study found that the majority of the participants had poor adherence to various COVID-19 preventive measures. In addition, the participant's perception of barriers to adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures was poor. However, the perception of facilitators for adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures was good. The concerned institution and organization should implement activities that increase adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Furthermore, it is important to provide students with appropriate information to correct their perceptions of barriers to adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures.

Isolation, Identification, Speciation, and Antibiogram of Enterococcus species by conventional methods and Assessment of the Prevalence of vana genotype among VRE

Enterococci are Gram-positive, ovoid cocci that can be found as diplococci or in short chains. These species are found in the typical microbiota of the intestine, oral cavity, vagina, and other areas. Despite being commensals with moderate virulence, these species have lately emerged as important nosocomial infections with increasing drug resistance particularly to vancomycin. This has resulted in their changing patterns of infection that are resistant to conventional antimicrobial therapy. The main objective of this study was to assess the frequency of the VanA genotype among Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci, as well as the isolation, identification, speciation, and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Enterococci from various clinical specimens. In this six-month study, 500 different clinical specimens such as urine, blood, and pus were collected aseptically from patients suffering from urinary tract infection (UTI), septicemia, and pyogenic illnesses, and a total of 94 Enterococci strains were identified. These isolates were identified and speciated using traditional tests and biochemical processes. Following culture, the disc diffusion technique was used to determine their antibiotic susceptibility pattern, as suggested for common antibiotics. RCR was also used to evaluate the prevalence of the vanA gene among VRE isolates. 88.29% were E. faecalis, 7.88% were E. faecium, 2.12% were E. durans, 1.06 % was E. casseliflavus, and 1.06 % was E. gallinarum, out of a total of 94 isolates. Urine (70.21 %) yielded the most isolates, followed by blood (17.02 %) and pus (17.02 %). Female patients had a higher isolation rate of 73.40 % (69/94) than male patients, who had a rate of 26.59 % (25/94), and the majority of the Enterococcal isolates were from inpatients (62.77 %) rather than outpatients (37.23 %). 30 % of the isolates were hemolytic, whereas 70% were non-hemolytic. The isolates sensitivity patterns revealed that they were resistant to antibiotics such as ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and gentamicin. The susceptibility test also included 30g discs of vancomycin. Vancomycin resistance is greatest in E. faecium (28 %) 6/83, followed by E. faecalis (8 %) 2\7. All other isolates were vancomycin-susceptible. Vancomycin-resistant isolates made up 8.51 % of the total. Barely urine isolates were tested for nitrofurantoin resistance, which was found to be only 5%. Linezolid sensitivity was found in all of the Enterococci. According to the PCR test for the vanA gene, among total VRE isolates 5 E. faecalis and 1 E. faecium isolates had vanA genotypes with bands of 473bp. A number of studies have revealed an increment in the infection rate and antimicrobial resistance of Enterococci. Elevated isolation rate of VRE has posed threat to therapeutic strategies as now only few antibiotics are susceptible to such isolates. It is thus imperative to execute measures that could stable the VRE augmentation lest a normal commensal would get the status of SARS-CoV-2. © MEDIC SCIENTIFIC, All rights reserved.

Prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody in hemodialysis facilities: a cross-sectional multicenter study from Madinah.

BACKGROUND: Since the occurrence of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), the global community has witnessed its exponential spread with devastating outcomes within the general population and specifically within hemodialysis patients. OBJECTIVES: Compare the state of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 among hemodialysis patients and staff. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with a prospective follow-up period. SETTING: Hemodialysis centers in Madinah region. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in dialysis patients using dialysis centers staff as controls. The participants were tested on four occasions when feasible for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We also analyzed factors that might be associated with seropositivity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SARS-CoV-2 positivity using immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels SAMPLE SIZE: 830 participants, 677 patients and 153 dialysis centers staff as controls. RESULTS: Of the total participants, 325 (257 patients and 68 staff) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, for a prevalence of 38.0% and 44.4% among patients and staff, respectively (P=.1379). Participants with a history of COVID-19 or related symptoms were more likely to have positive IgG (P<.0001). Surprisingly, positivity was also center-dependent. In a multivariable logistic regression, a history of infection and related symptoms contributed significantly to developing immunity. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody among hemodialysis patients and previously asymptomatic staff suggested past asymptomatic infection. Some centers showed more immunity effects than others. LIMITATIONS: Unable to collect four samples for each participant; limited to one urban center. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.

Design a sturdy and secure authentication scheme capable of early detection of COVID-19 patients using WBANs

COVID-19 was first reported in China Wuhan and rapidly grown up to more than 58 countries based on the World Health Organization (WHO). Well ahead of any health emergency, the health care server has the ability to access these data via authorization and then s/he performs necessary actions. In order to protect medical data from malicious activities, authentication is the starting point for this. Authentication systems represent a network support factor to reduce ineffective users and radically eliminate phishing because authentication determines the identity of the real user. Many schemes and technologies have been suggested for authentication in wireless body area networks (WBANs). In this paper, we suggest a strong dynamic password authentication system for WBANs. We adopt a (different/new) way to calculate a password and make it coherent and dynamic for each login session. Our work also provides additional security properties to get rid of hub node impersonation attacks and resolve key escrow issues. Our scheme resist fishing attach which keep patient from any illegal change of drugs. By comparison, the proposed scheme is considered active and has strong security based on formal security analysis tools such as AVISPA. © 2022 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.