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      Assessment of awareness and hygiene practices regarding COVID-19 among adults in Gaza, Palestine

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          Abstract

          Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide and become an emerging life-threatening pandemic disease since 2019. This study aimed to evaluate the basic knowledge, awareness, personal hygiene and healthy practices regarding COVID-19 during its outbreak among the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. It is a cross-sectional survey carried out between July and August 2020 and included 458 participants, aged 18 years or older, belonging to the five Gaza Strip governorates, Palestine, with a variety of socio-economic status. Sociodemographic data and data on COVID-19 knowledge, awareness, personal hygiene and healthy practices were collected via email and social media applications (WhatsApp and Facebook) from the study participants. Statistical analyses were performed using Vr 22 of the SPSS software. Overall, the mean ± SD age of the participants was 26.5 ± 4.2 years. Our findings showed that most of the Gazan adults had very good knowledge regarding COVID-19 in terms of host sources, causative agents, incubation period, symptoms, transmission, treatment and prevention. Additionally, most of the participants had a high level of personal hygiene and healthy practices during the COVID-19 outbreak, where personal hygiene and healthy practices against COVID-19 was 77.4%. Furthermore, a higher educational level did not affect the quality of personal hygiene and healthy practice behaviours during the COVID-19 outbreak. Although most of the Gazans had good knowledge regarding the healthy practices, a significant percentage of the population did not practice the hygiene protocol. Despite the majority of the Gazan population having very good knowledge regarding COVID-19 and a high level of personal hygiene and healthy practices during the COVID-19 outbreak, a small proportion require education about avoiding physical contact and maintaining social distancing with others during the pandemic.

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          Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

          Summary Background A recent cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel betacoronavirus, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). We report the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of these patients. Methods All patients with suspected 2019-nCoV were admitted to a designated hospital in Wuhan. We prospectively collected and analysed data on patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by real-time RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing. Data were obtained with standardised data collection forms shared by WHO and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium from electronic medical records. Researchers also directly communicated with patients or their families to ascertain epidemiological and symptom data. Outcomes were also compared between patients who had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and those who had not. Findings By Jan 2, 2020, 41 admitted hospital patients had been identified as having laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection. Most of the infected patients were men (30 [73%] of 41); less than half had underlying diseases (13 [32%]), including diabetes (eight [20%]), hypertension (six [15%]), and cardiovascular disease (six [15%]). Median age was 49·0 years (IQR 41·0–58·0). 27 (66%) of 41 patients had been exposed to Huanan seafood market. One family cluster was found. Common symptoms at onset of illness were fever (40 [98%] of 41 patients), cough (31 [76%]), and myalgia or fatigue (18 [44%]); less common symptoms were sputum production (11 [28%] of 39), headache (three [8%] of 38), haemoptysis (two [5%] of 39), and diarrhoea (one [3%] of 38). Dyspnoea developed in 22 (55%) of 40 patients (median time from illness onset to dyspnoea 8·0 days [IQR 5·0–13·0]). 26 (63%) of 41 patients had lymphopenia. All 41 patients had pneumonia with abnormal findings on chest CT. Complications included acute respiratory distress syndrome (12 [29%]), RNAaemia (six [15%]), acute cardiac injury (five [12%]) and secondary infection (four [10%]). 13 (32%) patients were admitted to an ICU and six (15%) died. Compared with non-ICU patients, ICU patients had higher plasma levels of IL2, IL7, IL10, GSCF, IP10, MCP1, MIP1A, and TNFα. Interpretation The 2019-nCoV infection caused clusters of severe respiratory illness similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and was associated with ICU admission and high mortality. Major gaps in our knowledge of the origin, epidemiology, duration of human transmission, and clinical spectrum of disease need fulfilment by future studies. Funding Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.
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            Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study

            Summary Background In December, 2019, a pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) emerged in Wuhan, China. We aimed to further clarify the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 2019-nCoV pneumonia. Methods In this retrospective, single-centre study, we included all confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV in Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital from Jan 1 to Jan 20, 2020. Cases were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR and were analysed for epidemiological, demographic, clinical, and radiological features and laboratory data. Outcomes were followed up until Jan 25, 2020. Findings Of the 99 patients with 2019-nCoV pneumonia, 49 (49%) had a history of exposure to the Huanan seafood market. The average age of the patients was 55·5 years (SD 13·1), including 67 men and 32 women. 2019-nCoV was detected in all patients by real-time RT-PCR. 50 (51%) patients had chronic diseases. Patients had clinical manifestations of fever (82 [83%] patients), cough (81 [82%] patients), shortness of breath (31 [31%] patients), muscle ache (11 [11%] patients), confusion (nine [9%] patients), headache (eight [8%] patients), sore throat (five [5%] patients), rhinorrhoea (four [4%] patients), chest pain (two [2%] patients), diarrhoea (two [2%] patients), and nausea and vomiting (one [1%] patient). According to imaging examination, 74 (75%) patients showed bilateral pneumonia, 14 (14%) patients showed multiple mottling and ground-glass opacity, and one (1%) patient had pneumothorax. 17 (17%) patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and, among them, 11 (11%) patients worsened in a short period of time and died of multiple organ failure. Interpretation The 2019-nCoV infection was of clustering onset, is more likely to affect older males with comorbidities, and can result in severe and even fatal respiratory diseases such as acute respiratory distress syndrome. In general, characteristics of patients who died were in line with the MuLBSTA score, an early warning model for predicting mortality in viral pneumonia. Further investigation is needed to explore the applicability of the MuLBSTA score in predicting the risk of mortality in 2019-nCoV infection. Funding National Key R&D Program of China.
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              World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

              An unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia of unknown aetiology in Wuhan City, Hubei province in China emerged in December 2019. A novel coronavirus was identified as the causative agent and was subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Considered a relative of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), COVID-19 is caused by a betacoronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 that affects the lower respiratory tract and manifests as pneumonia in humans. Despite rigorous global containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to rise, with 90,870 laboratory-confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths worldwide. In response to this global outbreak, we summarise the current state of knowledge surrounding COVID-19.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                New Microbes New Infect
                New Microbes New Infect
                New Microbes and New Infections
                Elsevier
                2052-2975
                25 March 2021
                May 2021
                25 March 2021
                : 41
                : 100876
                Affiliations
                [1) ]Department of Medical Sciences, University College of Science & Technology—Khan Younis, Gaza, Palestine
                [2) ]Global Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
                [3) ]Department of Biology and Biotechnology, The Islamic University-Gaza, Gaza, Palestine
                Author notes
                [] Corresponding author: A.M. Altaher, Department of Medical Sciences, University College of Science & Technology—Khan Younis, Gaza, 8540400, Palestine. a.taher@ 123456ucst.edu.ps
                Article
                S2052-2975(21)00040-8 100876
                10.1016/j.nmni.2021.100876
                8079471
                33936747
                f9698bdb-1ee1-41ff-9598-3fc467c34bb2
                © 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

                This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

                History
                : 5 January 2021
                : 4 March 2021
                : 19 March 2021
                Categories
                Original Article

                awareness,coronavirus disease 2019,gaza strip,pandemic,personal hygiene,young adults

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