Corona virus

The 2nd Scientific Advisory Board Meeting of the Global Center for Mass Gathering Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, met April 28 – 29 in Riyadh to discuss risk of infectious diseases and research and surveillance during Hajj. Due to the on-going outbreak of MERS-CoV and especially the recent increase in case detection in Jeddah, (138 MERS cases were reported from Jeddah between 11 to 26 April 2014), the agenda for the second day was focused on MERS-CoV, both in relation to the risk it presents for the forthcoming Umrah during Ramadan and the Hajj, but also in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East in general. The Ministry of Health used the opportunity to ask the Scientific Advisory Board to review the MERS-CoV situation globally with specific attention to MERS in the country and review case definition, infection control guidelines and risk assessment to nationals, residents, health care workers, family conta

Introduction Most cases of COVID-19 coronavirus infection occurred in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of December 2019 in the form of acute pneumonia. COVID-19 virus infects people of all ages. The most affected elderly people with underlying medical conditions. This may cause various symptoms such as fever, difficulty breathing, lung infection, coughing andsneezing. Aim

Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2014

Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2017

Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2016

During July–August 2015, the number of cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) reported from Saudi Arabia increased dramatically. We reviewed the 143 confirmed cases from this period and classified each based upon likely transmission source. We found that the surge in cases resulted predominantly (90%) from secondary transmission largely attributable to an outbreak at a single healthcare facility in Riyadh. Genome sequencing of MERS coronavirus from 6 cases demonstrated continued circulation of the recently described recombinant virus. A single unique frameshift deletion in open reading frame 5 was detected in the viral sequence from 1 case.

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 2013

Journal of Infection and Public Health, 2019

Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology

ObjectiveTo investigate a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak event involving multiple healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; to characterize transmission; and to explore infection control implications.DesignOutbreak investigation.SettingCases presented in 4 healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a tertiary-care hospital, a specialty pulmonary hospital, an outpatient clinic, and an outpatient dialysis unit.MethodsContact tracing and testing were performed following reports of cases at 2 hospitals. Laboratory results were confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and/or genome sequencing. We assessed exposures and determined seropositivity among available healthcare personnel (HCP) cases and HCP contacts of cases.ResultsIn total, 48 cases were identified, involving patients, HCP, and family members across 2 hospitals, an outpatient clinic, and a dialysis clinic. At each hospital, transmission was link...