Use of Rapid COVID-19 Antibody Testing to Evaluate Relative Risk of Infection in Campus Versus Non-campus Residents at a Government Institution in Saudi Arabia: a Cohort Study

Abstract Background: The World Health Organization confirmed in January 2020 that SARS-CoV-2 has become a pandemic infection. The first case in Saudi Arabia was reported on March 2, 2020. The Saudi Ministry of Health has authorized the use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M/immunoglobulin G (IgM/IgG) antibody testing, but serological test evaluations are still ongoing. Methods: The primary study aim was to determine whether living on a government institution campus, thus limiting contact with the general public, protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection. A study population of 763 employees of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia and their family members were asked about their age, nationality, residency on or off the KACST campus, chronic conditions, previous COVID-19 symptoms, exposure to infected individuals, and COVID-19 PCR test results. After informed consent was obtained, the VivaDiagTM COVID-19 IgM/IgG Rapid Test was administered. Statistical analysis was conducted of Pearson correlation coefficients for, and generalized linear regression model fitting for predictive ability of, several independent variables versus IgG status. Results: While the study population was skewed towards male, Saudi nationality, and younger individuals, the age distribution was similar between on-campus residents and off-campus residents. Of the 763 study individuals 91.1% were non-campus residents and 8.9% were campus residents. Discussion: As expected, being IgG+ strongly positively correlated with having the COVID-19 symptom of loss of smell (r = 0.417052483). On-campus residency weakly or somewhat correlated with being IgG positive (IgG+; r = 0.187990064) or IgM positive (IgM+; r= 0.242302626), indicating that residing on campus actually increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Consistent with this, residency status was highly statistically significantly predictive (p = 0.00002) of IgG status, second only to contact with a COVID19 infected individual (p = 0.00000), and living on campus increased the likelihood of being IgG+. Blood type (p = 0.01069), loss of sense of smell (p = 0.01079); hypertension (p = 0.01871), nationality (p = 0.02324), and PCR test status (p = 0.04243) also statistically significantly predicted IgG status.Conclusions: Contrary to the hypothesis, living on campus actually increased the risk of testing positive for IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Recurrence, Reactivation, or Inflammatory Rebound of SARS-CoV-2 Infection With Acute Vestibular Symptoms: A Case Report and Revision of Literature

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.666468 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Salvatore Zaffina ◽

Paola Lanteri ◽

Francesco Gilardi ◽

Sergio Garbarino ◽

Annapaola Santoro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Viral Reactivation ◽

Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Antibody Testing ◽

Igg Antibody ◽

First Case ◽

Acute Vestibular Syndrome ◽

Vestibular Symptoms ◽

Pcr Test

A case of recurrent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with neurovestibular symptoms was reported. In March 2020, a physician working in an Italian pediatric hospital had flu-like symptoms with anosmia and dysgeusia, and following a reverse transcription PCR (RT/PCR) test with a nasopharyngeal swab tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. After home quarantine, 21 days from the beginning of the symptoms, the patient tested negative in two subsequent swabs and was declared healed and readmitted to work. Serological testing showed a low level of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody title and absence of immunoglobulin M (IgM). However, 2 weeks later, before resuming work, the patient complained of acute vestibular syndrome, and the RT/PCR test with mucosal swab turned positive. On the basis of the literature examined and reviewed for recurrence cases and vestibular symptoms during COVID-19, to our knowledge this case is the first case of recurrence with vestibular impairment as a neurological symptom, and we defined it as probably a viral reactivation. The PCR retest positivity cannot differentiate re-infectivity, relapse, and dead-viral RNA detection. Serological antibody testing and viral genome sequencing could be always performed in recurrence cases.

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Nurses’ Knowledge and Anxiety Levels toward COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

Nursing Reports ◽

10.3390/nursrep11020034 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 356-363

Author(s):

Fatmah Alsharif

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Care Staff ◽

World Health ◽

Health Issues ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

As Stress ◽

Health Organization

Background: In the battle against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical care staff, especially nurses, are at a higher risk of encountering psychological health issues and distress, such as stress, tension, burdensome indications, and, most importantly, fear. They are also at higher risk of becoming infected and transmitting this virus. In Saudi Arabia, it was noticed that the healthcare workforce suffered from anxiety, and that this more evident in women than men. Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of nurses regarding COVID-19 and the level of anxiety toward the COVID-19 outbreak in the current pandemic situation. Design: A cross-sectional design was used and a validated self-administered online questionnaire with a set of questions related to COVID-19 was distributed to 87 participating nurses. Results: The results showed that more than half of the nurses (71.90%) had an adequate and good knowledge about the causes, transmission, symptoms, treatment, and death rate of COVID-19. The main sources of information for the nurses were social media (51.7%) and the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health (36.8%). Conclusions: The results allowed the conclusion that, though the nurses had satisfactory knowledge about COVID-19, more than 50% of them experienced mental health issues such as anxiety. To address this, along with providing more knowledge about COVID-19, nurses should be supported in managing their anxiety.

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Medication safety knowledge, attitude, and practice among hospital pharmacists in tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia: a multi-center study

Archives of Public Health ◽

10.1186/s13690-021-00616-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 79 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Azizah AL-Mutairi ◽

Isamme AlFayyad ◽

Youssef Altannir ◽

Mohamad Al-Tannir

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Medication Safety ◽

Positive Attitude ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

World Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Hospital Pharmacists ◽

Adr Reporting ◽

Tertiary Care Centers

Abstract Background Pharmacovigilance (PV) demarcates all actions involving the detection and prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADR) for marketed drugs. However, ADRs are considerably underreported worldwide and continue to be a major concern to health care systems. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and perception of hospital pharmacists regarding medication safety concerning PV and ADRs across multiple tertiary care centers around Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2019 and January 2020. Pharmacists working in the tertiary care centers of Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia were asked to participate in the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct this study, it consisted of: 63 questions out of which 19 questions were knowledge-based, 15 were attitude-based, and 29 were practice-based questions. Results A total of 350 pharmacists were distributed and 289 agreed to participate, giving a response rate of 82.6%. Most pharmacists were aware of the concept of VP and its functions (96.5%) and (87.2%), respectively. Moreover, 90% said that ADR can be preventable and non-preventable. However, the findings revealed inadequate knowledge about the overall PV field, where the majority of the pharmacists failed to correctly answer questions related to independent ADRs treatment, Augmented drug reaction, the international location of ADR, and the World Health Organization “online database” for reporting ADRs. Moreover, incomplete and/or wrong answers were recorded for questions that included single or multiple correct answers. Regarding the participants” attitude, 96.9% were interested in ADR reporting, agreeing that ADR is important to enable safe drug usage. Although a general positive attitude was recorded, pharmacists have stated that the three main barriers that hinder reporting ADRs are: unavailability of information about ADRs, lack of awareness about the need to report ADRs, and lack of time. Concerning practice, 69.2% said they received training in ADRs reporting, and 70% have reported ADRs more than once a week. Conclusion Surveyed pharmacists from Riyadh hospitals showed narrow knowledge of the PV field. However, a positive attitude and satisfactory practice was observed among pharmacists. These findings warrant the need for educational programs and an encouraging environment for ADR reporting to increase ADR reporting rates and support PV activities in Saudi Arabia.

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Mental health law in Saudi Arabia

BJPsych International ◽

10.1192/bji.2017.10 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 17-19

Author(s):

Jessica Carlisle

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

International Standards ◽

World Health ◽

Health Law ◽

Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽

Mental Health Law ◽

The Past ◽

Health Organization

During the past 30 years the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed an extensive hospital-based mental health system culminating in the passing of a mental health law in 2014. This legislation embodies many of the international standards promoted by the World Health Organization. However, the mechanisms for protecting the human rights of psychiatric patients are neither sufficiently independent nor adequately robust.

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Seroprevalence of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Infection among Healthcare Workers at a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1102731/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hayat Mushcab ◽

Jaffar Al-Tawfiq ◽

Mohammed Ghamdi ◽

Amani Babgi ◽

Abdulrazack Amir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Infection Prevention ◽

Seroconversion Rate ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

World Health ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Healthcare Organizations ◽

And Control ◽

Assessment Questionnaire

Abstract Background The nature of the healthcare workers' jobs standing at the frontline against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) puts them at a higher risk of unknowingly contracting the disease and potentially contributing to the spread. This study aims to assess the overall positive seroconversion prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. Methods This is a longitudinal cohort study of healthcare workers at a tertiary hospital serving patients in several districts in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Participants were recruited between June - December 2020. Each participant had a serology blood test and completed the World Health Organization's risk factors assessment questionnaire. Results This study included 682 participants working in any capacity at a tertiary hospital, representing 15.7% of our population. Only 87 participants tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, a prevalence of 12.7% of all participants. Of the 87 participants, 17 participants never tested positive for COVID-19 rt-PCR before the study, a prevalence of 2.9%. Moreover, the improper technique of using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water after the risk of body fluid exposure and wearing personal protective equipment when indicated were found to be statistically significant to having positive SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay with P=0.02, P=0.03, and CI: 95% respectively. Conclusion Positive seroconversion rate was considerably low during the first wave of COVID-19 amongst our healthcare workers and similar to other healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia. Seropositivity correlated significantly with adherence to infection prevention and control recommendations.

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Estimating COVID-19 cases in Makkah region of Saudi Arabia: Space-time ARIMA modeling

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0250149 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0250149

Author(s):

Fuad A. Awwad ◽

Moataz A. Mohamoud ◽

Mohamed R. Abonazel

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Moving Average ◽

Arima Model ◽

Daily Basis ◽

World Health ◽

Arima Models ◽

Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average ◽

First Case ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

The Impact

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading across the globe. By 30 Sep 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the number of cases worldwide had reached 34 million with more than one million deaths. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) registered the first case of COVID-19 on 2 Mar 2020. Since then, the number of infections has been increasing gradually on a daily basis. On 20 Sep 2020, the KSA reported 334,605 cases, with 319,154 recoveries and 4,768 deaths. The KSA has taken several measures to control the spread of COVID-19, especially during the Umrah and Hajj events of 1441, including stopping Umrah and performing this year’s Hajj in reduced numbers from within the Kingdom, and imposing a curfew on the cities of the Kingdom from 23 Mar to 28 May 2020. In this article, two statistical models were used to measure the impact of the curfew on the spread of COVID-19 in KSA. The two models are Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model and Spatial Time-Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (STARIMA) model. We used the data obtained from 31 May to 11 October 2020 to assess the model of STARIMA for the COVID-19 confirmation cases in (Makkah, Jeddah, and Taif) in KSA. The results show that STARIMA models are more reliable in forecasting future epidemics of COVID-19 than ARIMA models. We demonstrated the preference of STARIMA models over ARIMA models during the period in which the curfew was lifted.

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Family’s Role in Achieving Language Affiliation among Children: A Comparative Study Applied to Some Families

Arab World English Journal ◽

10.24093/awej/vol12no3.8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 111-128

Author(s):

Aljohara Fahad Al Saud

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Analytical Approach ◽

Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽

Language Identity ◽

Study Population ◽

High Degree ◽

Very High

Identifying language affiliation among children for family immigrants is crucial for one’s language identity. This study aimed to determine the role played by Arab families in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Austria, and Britain to attain language affiliation among their children. It also aims to identify the challenges facing families living in these countries in achieving language affiliation among their children. The study population consisted of all the families that live in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to all the Arab families that live in Austria and Britain and the study sample included (120) parents. The researcher adopted the descriptive-analytical approach and used the questionnaire as the study tool. The study reached several results; first, the role played by families in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Austria, and United Kingdom to attain language affiliation among their children got a high degree of response. Second, the challenges facing activating the family’s role in attaining language affiliation of their children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Austria have got a high degree of response, while in Britain, they obtained a very high degree of response. The study recommended involving all family members in accessing different and creative ways of practicing their native language and activating the role of social media in developing the language affiliation of children.

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Structuring Youth Councils in Saudi Arabia: A Forecast Study

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies ◽

10.36941/ajis-2021-0009 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 96

Author(s):

Mohammed Abdurahman Alkohaiz ◽

Haifa Abdulrahman Bin Shalhoub

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Community Development ◽

Vice President ◽

Youth Participation ◽

Optimal Structure ◽

Primary Study ◽

Improve Performance ◽

King Saud University ◽

Study Results

Youth is one of the most substantial pillars of community development. The study investigates the optimal structure of youth councils in Saudi Arabia. And it establishes the necessary regulations by setting targets, tasks, conditions of membership, and developing a unified proposal for these councils. The primary study tool was a questionnaire developed by researchers were used to assess the studied parameters. They were distributed to (413) young men at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, aged (18-34) years. According to the analytical approach, it is a forecast study. The study results showed that the optimal structure of these councils' includes: First, the prince of the region or the governor as a president. Second, the rector as a vice-president. Finally, the commission is equally male and female. While the council objectives: First, take advantage of youth proposals, capacities, and intellectual property. Secondly, youth participation in the discussion, determination of their requirements, and decision-making. Also, it identified a set of tasks: Encouraging creative and talented youth to achieve national accomplishment and motivating them to take on their responsibilities in serving their community. As for the terms of the Council's membership, members must be between 18 and 30 years, and the name of the office shall be two years and nominated by government educational bodies.There should be a responsible body for structuring youth councils regions, increasing youth councils, and meetings between them in a periodic manner among different countries to exchange experiences and improve performance. Received: 27 October 2020 / Accepted: 10 December 2020 / Published: 17 January 2021

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Assessment of Barriers to Exclusive Breast Feeding Among Working Saudi Mothers

International Journal of Innovative Research in Medical Science ◽

10.23958/ijirms/vol06-i10/1221 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (10) ◽

pp. 656-663

Author(s):

Nisreen Kh. Aref Albezrah ◽

Haneen Ali Alshehri ◽

Raghad Hilal Alswat ◽

Manal Saeed Almalki ◽

Atheer Mohammed Al fuhayd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Breast Feeding ◽

Working Mothers ◽

World Health ◽

Western Region ◽

Full Time ◽

Milk Secretion ◽

Exclusive Breast Feeding ◽

The Western Region

Background: The World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children’s Fund recommend mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months of their life that should be initiated within the first hour after birth. Methods: This cross-sectional study included currently employed Saudi working mothers residing the Western region of Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed through email and social media. Each person meeting the inclusion criteria was provided informed consent, explaining the study aim, and ensuring the confidentiality of information. Data were obtained by filling out the designed Questionnaire. Result: This study included 692 working Saudi mothers. The frequency of exclusive breast feeding was 40.2%, which was continued by 29.8% only after returning to the work. Insufficient breast milk secretion (17.5%) and the lack or minimal support from the workplace for EBF (6.6%) were commonly stated by the mothers. There were great deficiencies in the breastfeeding friendly work policies including the absence of breast feeding or breast milk-pumping place (86.4%), absence of breastfeeding hours during work time (80.9%), and the presence of a strict full-time schedule that did not allow freely use of the nursing break. Conclusion: The present study shows low prevalence of exclusive breast feeding among working mothers in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. Multiple barriers to continuing breast feeding have been detected. Insufficient breast milk secretion and the lack of breastfeeding friendly work policies were common reasons.

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus Antibody Testing by Enzyme-Linked Fluorescent and Western Blot Assays Using Serum, Gingival-Crevicular Transudate, and Urine Samples

Journal of Clinical Microbiology ◽

10.1128/jcm.37.4.1100-1106.1999 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 1100-1106 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Prudencio Martínez Martínez ◽

Antonio Rodríguez Torres ◽

Raul Ortiz de Lejarazu ◽

Ana Montoya ◽

José Francisco Martín ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Western Blot ◽

Stage Iv ◽

Urine Samples ◽

World Health ◽

Antibody Detection ◽

Lower Sensitivity ◽

Antibody Testing ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible utilization of saliva and urine as alternative samples to serum for the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A total of 302 individuals participated in the study: 187 HIV-infected individuals (106 had Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] stage II infection, 19 had CDC stage III infection, and 62 had CDC stage IV infection) and 115 noninfected persons (46 of the noninfected persons were blood donors and 69 belonged to a group at high risk of HIV infection). Paired saliva and urine samples were taken from each of the participants in the study. The presence of HIV-specific antibodies was detected by an enzyme-linked fluorescent assay (ELFA), and the result was confirmed by Western blot analysis (WB). The ELFA with saliva gave maximum sensitivity and specificity values, while ELFA had lower sensitivity (95.2%) and specificity (97.4%) values for detection of HIV antibody in urine samples. WB with all saliva samples fulfilled the World Health Organization criterion for positivity, while only 96.8% of the urine samples were confirmed to be positive by WB. Among the four reactivity patterns found by WB of these alternative samples, the most frequent included bands against three groups of HIV structural proteins (was ENV, POL, and GAG). The reactivity bands most frequently observed were those for the proteins gp160 and gp120. The least common reactivity band was the band for protein p17. The detection of HIV antibodies in saliva samples by means of ELFA with the possibility of later confirmation by WB makes saliva an alternative to serum for possible use in the diagnosis of infection. In contrast, HIV antibody detection in urine samples by the same methodology (ELFA) could be taken into consideration for use in epidemiological studies.

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