Wild Poliovirus Type 1 in Oman: A re-emerging threat that requires urgent, targeted and strategic preparedness

n/

Successes and Challenges of HIV/AIDS Program in Oman: 1984–2015

We sought to provide an epidemiological situation of HIV in Oman and assess the ongoing impact of the program established in 1987 using data collected from national health reports between 1984 and 2015. Since the report of the first AIDS case in Oman in 1984, the numbers have steadily increased. Eighty percent of the cases were reported between 1996 and 2015. By the end of 2015, there were 2879 people known to be living with HIV (PLHIV) giving a prevalence of < 1%. More males were affected than females (p < 0.001); 69.7% of affected males and 73.1% of females were aged 20–49 years. The highest HIV rate was in the Musandam governorate. Most (66.8%) new HIV infections were caused via unprotected sex, 8.3% from mother-to-child, 4.3% by intravenous drug abuse, 3.2% via blood transfusion, and 17.4% by unknown causes. PLHIV on antiretroviral drug therapy (ART) increased 57.0% by the end of 2015 (p < 0.0001). A 23.0% reduction in mortality due to HIV was noted (p < 0.0001). Maternal-to-child transmission per 100000 live births were 11, 9, 17, 10, 6, and 4 from 2009 to 2014, respectively. In 2015, 67.6% of PLHIV knew their HIV status, 65.0% were on ART, and 48.0% achieved virological suppression. There is an urgent need to focus on the quality and coverage of treatment, as well as care and support to HIV patients with special attention to high-risk groups

Dengue Fever: An Emerging Disease in Oman Requiring Urgent Public Health Interventions

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, Southeast Asian, and the Western Pacific regions with estimates of 390 million cases representing 17% of the global burden of infectious diseases in 2013

Monkeypox Outbreak: More queries posed as cases globally soar

NON

Viral etiology, seasonality and severity of hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory infections in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2007-2014.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the role of viral respiratory pathogens in the etiology, seasonality or severity of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. METHODS: Sentinel surveillance for SARI was conducted from December 2007 through February 2014 at 20 hospitals in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar and Yemen. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected from hospitalized patients meeting SARI case definitions and were analyzed for infection with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (AdV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and human parainfluenza virus types 1-3 (hPIV1-3). We analyzed surveillance data to calculate positivity rates for viral respiratory pathogens, describe the seasonality of those pathogens and determine which pathogens were responsible for more severe outcomes requiring ventilation and/or intensive care and/or resulting in death. RESULTS: At least one viral respiratory pathogen was detected in 8,753/28,508 (30.7%) samples tested for at least one pathogen and 3,497/9,315 (37.5%) of samples tested for all pathogens-influenza in 3,345/28,438 (11.8%), RSV in 3,942/24,503 (16.1%), AdV in 923/9,402 (9.8%), hMPV in 617/9,384 (6.6%), hPIV1 in 159/9,402 (1.7%), hPIV2 in 85/9,402 (0.9%) and hPIV3 in 365/9,402 (3.9%). Multiple pathogens were identified in 501/9,316 (5.4%) participants tested for all pathogens. Monthly variation, indicating seasonal differences in levels of infection, was observed for all pathogens. Participants with hMPV infections and participants less than five years of age were significantly less likely than participants not infected with hMPV and those older than five years of age, respectively, to experience a severe outcome, while participants with a pre-existing chronic disease were at increased risk of a severe outcome, compared to those with no reported pre-existing chronic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Viral respiratory pathogens are common among SARI patients in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Ongoing surveillance is important to monitor changes in the etiology, seasonality and severity of pathogens of interest