Dr. Asem Shehabi graduated from the University of Kiel, Germany in 1972 with a Doctorate degree in Medical Sciences/ Medical Microbiology (DSc). He has spent the past 45 years of his career working as a professor in teaching Medical Microbiology and as consultant and researcher in Diagnostics Microbiology Labs at The Jordan University hospital
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (R... more Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in young children worldwide. Multiple factors affect RSV disease severity, and data regarding differences between RSV subtypes severity are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, seasonality and severity of RSV subtypes in children. Methods: As part of a prospective ARI surveillance study conducted from March 2010 to March 2013 in Amman, Jordan, children less than 2 years with fever and/or respiratory symptoms were enrolled. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected through parental interviews and medical chart review. The treating physician collected severity score data at admission. Nasal and throat swabs were collected and tested. Multivariable regression models were used to compare the odds of increased disease severity across a priori selected predictors of interest. Results: Overall, 1397/3168 (44%) children were RSV positive, with a mean age of 5.3 months (±4.8 SD), 59.7% were male, 6.4% had an underlying medical condition (UMC), 63.6% were RSV-A positive, 25.2% were RSV-B positive, 0.6% were positive for both, and 10.6% could not be typed. Both RSV subtypes peaked in January–March of each year. RSV A-positive children were more likely to present with decreased appetite but less likely to have viral co-detection than RSV B-positive children. Independent factors associated with RSV disease severity included cycle threshold value, vitamin D level, age, UMC, prematurity and severity score, but not RSV subtypes. Conclusion: RSV subtypes co-circulated and had similar severity profiles; future preventive and treatment measures should target both subtypes.
Objective: To construct a prediction model for caries experience in Jordanian university students... more Objective: To construct a prediction model for caries experience in Jordanian university students using a number of explanatory risk factors as predictors. Design: Data on salivary flow rate, buffering capacity, streptococci and lactobacilli counts, plaque accumulation, oral hygiene and between meal sugar intakes were tested as predictors of clinically and radiographically registered DMFS: Methods of analysis included correlation, then multiple regression, and finally dichotomisation of the DMFS data and application of discriminant analysis and logistic regression. The latter analyses were conducted in order to predict in which caries risk group an individual belonged rather than predicting (as with regression) their actual caries status. Two dichotomisation schemes were investigated; dichotomisation at the mean and at the 75th percentile. Setting: The University of Jordan. Participants: A random sample of 180 university students (77 male and 103 female). Outcome measures: Relationships were expressed as correlation coefficients, R2, and sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of the predictors, and also their validity and efficiency. Results: The highest correlation coefficient achieved was 0.43 (P < 0.0001) between sugar-containing snack intakes and DMFS. The predicted power of the fitted multiple regression model was low R2 = 0.38). Logistic regression with the DMFS data dichotomised at the 75th percentile indicated that the fitted caries model correctly identified 76 per cent of the subjects. Sensitivity and specificity values of the predictive battery were 80 per cent and 75 per cent respectively. Conclusions: The multifactorial aetiology of caries remains unclear and requires further research. In the meantime, well-documented preventive measures should be implemented for this and similar populations.
BackgroundThe disease burden of influenza‐associated hospitalizations among children in Jordan is... more BackgroundThe disease burden of influenza‐associated hospitalizations among children in Jordan is not well established. We aimed to characterize hospitalizations attributed to influenza in a pediatric population.MethodsWe conducted a cross‐sectional study from our viral surveillance cohort in children under 2 years hospitalized with acute respiratory symptoms and/or fever from March 2010 to March 2013. We collected demographic and clinical characteristics, and calculated the frequency of children who met the severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) criteria. Nasal specimens were tested using real‐time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to detect influenza A, B, or C. Further subtyping for influenza A‐positive isolates was conducted.ResultsOf the 3168 children enrolled in our study, 119 (4%) were influenza‐positive. Influenza types and subtypes varied by season but were predominantly detected between December and February. Codetection of multiple respiratory pathogens was...
During a one-year period, 283 food handlers in Irbid, Jordan were investigated for the presence o... more During a one-year period, 283 food handlers in Irbid, Jordan were investigated for the presence of potential enteropathogens in their stools. The prevalence rate of enteropathogens among non-Jordanian food handlers (48.0%) was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) than that of the Jordanian group (12.3%). The isolation rates of Salmonella and Shigella were 6% and 1.4% respectively. Multi-drug resistance was frequent among isolates of Salmonella group B and Shigella spp. Intestinal parasites detected in the stools of food handlers included Ascaris lumbricoides (4.9%), Giardia lamblia (3.9%), Schistosoma mansoni, (2.8%), hookworms 2.5%, Hymenolyepis nana (1.8%), Trichuris trichiura (1.1%), Entamoeba histolytica (0.7%), and Taenia saginata (0.4%). This study emphasises the importance of food handlers, particularly the non-Jordanians, in Jordan, as potential source of food-borne infection.
Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (R... more Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in young children worldwide. Multiple factors affect RSV disease severity, and data regarding differences between RSV subtypes severity are controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, seasonality and severity of RSV subtypes in children. Methods: As part of a prospective ARI surveillance study conducted from March 2010 to March 2013 in Amman, Jordan, children less than 2 years with fever and/or respiratory symptoms were enrolled. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected through parental interviews and medical chart review. The treating physician collected severity score data at admission. Nasal and throat swabs were collected and tested. Multivariable regression models were used to compare the odds of increased disease severity across a priori selected predictors of interest. Results: Overall, 1397/3168 (44%) children were RSV positive, with a mean age of 5.3 months (±4.8 SD), 59.7% were male, 6.4% had an underlying medical condition (UMC), 63.6% were RSV-A positive, 25.2% were RSV-B positive, 0.6% were positive for both, and 10.6% could not be typed. Both RSV subtypes peaked in January–March of each year. RSV A-positive children were more likely to present with decreased appetite but less likely to have viral co-detection than RSV B-positive children. Independent factors associated with RSV disease severity included cycle threshold value, vitamin D level, age, UMC, prematurity and severity score, but not RSV subtypes. Conclusion: RSV subtypes co-circulated and had similar severity profiles; future preventive and treatment measures should target both subtypes.
Objective: To construct a prediction model for caries experience in Jordanian university students... more Objective: To construct a prediction model for caries experience in Jordanian university students using a number of explanatory risk factors as predictors. Design: Data on salivary flow rate, buffering capacity, streptococci and lactobacilli counts, plaque accumulation, oral hygiene and between meal sugar intakes were tested as predictors of clinically and radiographically registered DMFS: Methods of analysis included correlation, then multiple regression, and finally dichotomisation of the DMFS data and application of discriminant analysis and logistic regression. The latter analyses were conducted in order to predict in which caries risk group an individual belonged rather than predicting (as with regression) their actual caries status. Two dichotomisation schemes were investigated; dichotomisation at the mean and at the 75th percentile. Setting: The University of Jordan. Participants: A random sample of 180 university students (77 male and 103 female). Outcome measures: Relationships were expressed as correlation coefficients, R2, and sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of the predictors, and also their validity and efficiency. Results: The highest correlation coefficient achieved was 0.43 (P < 0.0001) between sugar-containing snack intakes and DMFS. The predicted power of the fitted multiple regression model was low R2 = 0.38). Logistic regression with the DMFS data dichotomised at the 75th percentile indicated that the fitted caries model correctly identified 76 per cent of the subjects. Sensitivity and specificity values of the predictive battery were 80 per cent and 75 per cent respectively. Conclusions: The multifactorial aetiology of caries remains unclear and requires further research. In the meantime, well-documented preventive measures should be implemented for this and similar populations.
BackgroundThe disease burden of influenza‐associated hospitalizations among children in Jordan is... more BackgroundThe disease burden of influenza‐associated hospitalizations among children in Jordan is not well established. We aimed to characterize hospitalizations attributed to influenza in a pediatric population.MethodsWe conducted a cross‐sectional study from our viral surveillance cohort in children under 2 years hospitalized with acute respiratory symptoms and/or fever from March 2010 to March 2013. We collected demographic and clinical characteristics, and calculated the frequency of children who met the severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) criteria. Nasal specimens were tested using real‐time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to detect influenza A, B, or C. Further subtyping for influenza A‐positive isolates was conducted.ResultsOf the 3168 children enrolled in our study, 119 (4%) were influenza‐positive. Influenza types and subtypes varied by season but were predominantly detected between December and February. Codetection of multiple respiratory pathogens was...
During a one-year period, 283 food handlers in Irbid, Jordan were investigated for the presence o... more During a one-year period, 283 food handlers in Irbid, Jordan were investigated for the presence of potential enteropathogens in their stools. The prevalence rate of enteropathogens among non-Jordanian food handlers (48.0%) was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) than that of the Jordanian group (12.3%). The isolation rates of Salmonella and Shigella were 6% and 1.4% respectively. Multi-drug resistance was frequent among isolates of Salmonella group B and Shigella spp. Intestinal parasites detected in the stools of food handlers included Ascaris lumbricoides (4.9%), Giardia lamblia (3.9%), Schistosoma mansoni, (2.8%), hookworms 2.5%, Hymenolyepis nana (1.8%), Trichuris trichiura (1.1%), Entamoeba histolytica (0.7%), and Taenia saginata (0.4%). This study emphasises the importance of food handlers, particularly the non-Jordanians, in Jordan, as potential source of food-borne infection.
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