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The conventional methods used for the diagnostics of viral infection are either expensive and time-consuming or not accurate enough and dependent on consumable reagents. In the presence of pandemics, a fast and reagent-free solution is needed for mass screening. Recently, the diagnosis of viral infections using infrared spectroscopy has been reported as a fast and low-cost method. In this work a fast and low-cost solution for corona viral detection using infrared spectroscopy based on a compact micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) device and artificial intelligence (AI) suitable for mass deployment is presented. Among the different variants of the corona virus that can infect people, 229E is used in this study due to its low pathogeny. The MEMS ATR-FTIR device employs a 6 reflections ZnSe crystal interface working in the spectral range of 2200-7000 cm-1. The virus was propagated and maintained in a medium for long enough time then cell supernatant was collected and centrifuged. The supernatant was then transferred and titrated using plaque titration assay. Positive virus samples were prepared with a concentration of 105 PFU/mL. Positive and negative control samples were applied on the crystal surface, dried using a heating lamp and the spectrum was captured. Principal component analysis and logistic regression were used as simple AI techniques. A sensitivity of about 90 % and a specificity of about 80 % were obtained demonstrating the potential detection of the virus based on the MEMS FTIR device. © 2023 SPIE.
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Aims: Studying the post-vaccination adverse health events is crucial to determine the confidence and acceptance of the public to the newly-developed COVID-19 vaccines. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence rates of the adverse health events experienced by the recipients of COVID-19 vaccines in Saudi Arabia. Methodology and results: A cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2021 using a google form of an online self-administered questionnaire sent via different social media platforms for recruiting participants from southwestern Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was prepared by medical and public health professionals and then translated into Arabic, pilot-studied and validated. Among the 453 Saudi adults who participated in the study with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, about (77.9%) were males aged 25.5 +/- 10.6 years. Most of the participants were college students living in the Makkah region. Nearly 68.3% reported post-vaccination adverse events, such as injection site pain/swelling (91.9%), fatigue (67.9%), bone and muscle pain (65.2%) and flu-like symptoms (58%). The type of vaccine was significantly associated with the development of adverse events p=0.002 (OR of Pfizer-BioNTech versus AstraZeneca: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.61). Additionally, ageing of more than the 3rd decade, male gender and being married were significantly associated with lower rates of reporting post-vaccination adverse events. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The development of COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse health events had no significant associations with residence, education, occupation, BMI, chronic diseases or smoking. However, age, gender, marital state and vaccine type may be considered significant predictors for developing post-vaccination adverse reactions.
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COVID-19 vaccine recipients are more likely to experience post-vaccination adverse events, which are considered the source of concerns about vaccine safety. This study aims to describe the utilization of COVID-19 vaccines and the associated adverse events and their possible predictors among adult Egyptians. An online cross-sectional study was designed to collect data through a Google Form questionnaire in November 2021. Adults who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine were asked to report their experience with vaccination and associated adverse events. A total of 853 participants were included in the study after receiving Sinopharm/Sinovac (63%), AstraZeneca (27%), Pfizer-BioNTech (4.8%), and other vaccines (5.2%). Around 50% of participants thought that COVID-19 vaccines were safe, 30.8% advised others with vaccination, and 68.3% reported post-vaccination adverse events. The most commonly encountered adverse symptoms were injection site pain (82.5%), fatigue (67.4%), flu-like symptoms (59.6%), and bone and muscle pains (59.6%). Most adverse events were less likely reported by Sinopharm/Sinovac recipients than recipients of other vaccines. The significant predictors for reporting adverse events were female gender, the first dose of vaccination, and vaccine type (AstraZeneca versus Sinopharm/Sinovac) with multivariable-adjusted OR (95% CI) = 1.85 (1.34-2.54);2.01 (1.24–3.25), and 3.86 (2.54–5.86). Findings revealed that adverse events of COVID-19 vaccines are common. Sinopharm/Sinovac recipients were reported to have lesser adverse events than other recipients. However, serious reactions were rare which ensures the safety of all vaccine types among the adult Egyptian population. © 2023, Mahidol University - ASEAN Institute for Health Development. All rights reserved.
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During COVID-19 pandemic;regular use of disinfectant become a must leading some times to misuse and many cases of toxicities appear. To examine toxicity correlates of Egyptian disinfectant misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-report online survey conducted between;September 2nd to September 16th, 2020 of Adults from the Egypt recruited via social media. Outcomes included Socio-demographic and baseline characteristics of the participants (Age, Sex, Educational level, Residence, type of Work, Work require direct contact with people, frequency and type disinfectant use), Knowledge and practice of the studied participants about utilization of disinfectant during the COVID 19 pandemic, Prevalence of toxicity with disinfectant, mode of exposure and manifestations among the participants during COVID 19 pandemic, of toxicity symptoms duration and attitude of management. Correlates are risk factors for toxicity exposure, satisfaction factors of practice and knowledge of disinfectants utilization. The participants included 558 adults (mean=30.9, 73.3% female). Most of participants show satisfactory knowledge 64.3% and practice 84.6% of disinfectant utilization during the pandemic. Disinfectant toxicity occurred in 31.5% mainly through skin contact 40.9% and inhalation 37.5%. Multiple respiratory 93% and dermal 83% were the main symptoms of toxicity. The toxicity symptoms continue for hours 30.7% with 50% home management without consultation. Female sex, regular use of disinfectant and bad ventilation were risk factors for toxicity exposure. Conclusions: Public messaging should continue to emphasize avoidance of high-risk practices such as unsafe preparation of cleaning and disinfectant solutions and inhalation or ingestion of cleaners and disinfectants with that message to prevent transmission of COVID 19 in household settings.
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Introduction: Patients with many comorbidities and chronic conditions have been severely affected by the outbreak, as their outcomes are the worst. Their routine of seeking medical care during Covid-19 is thought to be changed, in addition to the psychological impact of the pandemic. Research Question or Hypothesis: Patients with chronic conditions may suffered from anxiety, depression, and stress during covid-19, which their pattern of seeking medical care was changed Study Design: cross-secttional study Methods: In March 2021, a cross-sectional, web-based survey of patients with chronic diseases was conducted. 1037 eligible patients were assessed for psychological disorders, primarily depression, stress, and anxiety, using the DASS-21 scale, as well as their pattern of receiving medical care during Covid-19. Results: Diabetes and hypertension accounted for 62.5 percent of patients with chronic diseases, 17.8 percent for hypertension alone, 8.6 percent for diabetes, and 11.6 percent for other chronic diseases. During the pandemic, 52.5 percent of patients with chronic diseases were depressed, 57.9 percent were anxious, and 35.6 percent were stressed. Patients with chronic disease who had moderate to severe depression, moderate to severe anxiety, or moderate to severe stress were significantly more likely to have no follow-up for their chronic conditions (34.9 percent vs. 45.1 percent p=0.001), (43.6 percent vs. 53.8 percent p=0.001), and (14.9 percent vs. 34.8 percent p=0.001), respectively Conclusion: Patients with chronic conditions experienced significant anxiety, depression, and stress during covid-19, which changed their pattern of seeking medical care, and the majority of them receiving no follow-up for their chronic condition.