Objectives: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic continues to spread globally without an effective treatment. In search of the cure, convalescent plasma (CP) containing protective antibodies from survivors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has shown potential benefit in a no …
The Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was classified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. It is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus affects mainly the human respiratory system. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) is another respiratory …
Objectives: The World Health Organization (WHO) published a global strategic response plan in February 2020 aiming to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. It identified immediate activities required for global preparedness and response to the outbreak and set eight priority are …
Objectives: Healthcare workers (HCWs), especially those working on the front line, are considered to be at high risk of nosocomial acquisition of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Little is known about the effectiveness of the re …
Objectives: We sought to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on female doctors and nurses’ mental health in Oman. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, web-based survey of 402 female doctors and nurses recruited from several health facilities in Oman. We used the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, th …
In our study, we described the epidemiological aspects of the first 1304 laboratory-confirmed cases (incidence) in Oman. Oman has a strong communicable disease surveillance system across all governorates and regions within the country. It is unlikely we have missed some cases, particularly in the pediatric age group, a …
The availability of a vaccine to protect the community against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the most significant and immediate technical challenge humanity has ever faced especially when the general public’s trust in the vaccine is alarmingly brittle. For months, the world has eagerly …
We read with great interest the remarks made by Wiwanitkit. We highly appreciate his comments on our study and agree with his interesting observation that the low mortality rates and mild COVID-disease in our population is similar to findings from many Asian nations. These regional disparities need further research in …
Objectives: We sought to identify the epidemiological characteristics of the first case series of patients with COVID-19 in Oman. Methods: We included national surveillance data of patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from 24 February to 17 April 2020. Analyses were performed using descriptive and univariate sta …
Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal rickettsial infection caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. It is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium transmitted by the bite of infected chigger larva. The disease is distributed from Asia to the Pacific islands, and this region is known as the Tsutsugamushi Triangle. A 28 …
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic viral respiratory illness caused by a novel betacoronavirus, which was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Since, MERS-CoV cases have been reported across the Arabian Peninsula, with occasional cases exported among travelers to other continents. …
Dengue, the most widespread mosquito-borne viral infection in humans, is an emerging public health problem in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region threatening national, regional, and global health security. The disease is endemic in more than 128 countries in the African, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, South …
Objectives: In 2015, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) set a target that 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of those diagnosed will receive antiretroviral therapy, and 90% of those receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression by 2020. We sought to eluci …
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem affecting millions of people globally. In 2016, 10.4 million people developed TB causing 1.7 million deaths. Over 95% of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. On 19 May 2014, the World Health Assembly adopted the World Health Organization Post-2015 …
Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is most commonly described in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia and some imported cases in non-endemic areas. We describe the case of a 55-year-old Omani man with fulminant sepsis who worked in Laos, Cambodia. B. pseudomallei …
Objectives: Antimicrobial stewardship programs have been designed to measure and improve the use of antimicrobials to achieve optimal clinical outcomes and reduce bacterial resistance. The aim of this study was to review patterns of antimicrobial prescribing for hospitalized patients in the acute care setting and asses …
Objectives: Data on the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in healthcare workers (HCW) in Oman and the Arabian Gulf is scarce. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of latent tuberculosis (LTB) among HCW exposed to active TB in one of the tertiary care hospitals in Muscat. Methods: Exposed HCW were screened …