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Objective: To find out how well healthcare workers (HCWs) in Saudi Arabia's eastern region knew about the novel coronavirus illness 2019 (COVID-19) in terms of its symptoms, transmission, and treatment. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Saudi Arabian region of Al-Ahsa. Between December 2020 and March 2021, a questionnaire was distributed in the main hospitals in the eastern region: King Fahad Hospital, Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Hospital, Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, and Maternity and Children's Hospital. Participants' knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, transmission, and treatment was assessed using our developed questionnaire tool. The Student's t-test/ANOVA test was used to compare the mean knowledge scores of different demographic groups. Results: A total of 300 HCWs participated in this study. Our study sample's mean knowledge score was 6.9 (SD = 2.1) out of 13 (53.1%), indicating a marginal degree of understanding. The duration of practice had a significant effect on the participants' knowledge of COVID-19. Senior and non-Saudi HCWs had a higher knowledge score than the rest of the groups (p ≤ 0.05). The majority of the participants were able to identify that COVID-19 is transmitted from human to human through respiratory droplets, populations at higher risk of developing severe complications, populations needing screening for COVID-19, main clinical symptoms of COVID-19, and were following the WHO guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19. Conclusion: According to our findings, HCWs only had marginal knowledge about the symptoms, transmission, and treatment of COVID-19. As our findings represent early investigation at the start of the pandemic, more research is needed to evaluate the degree of information gathered two years after the outbreak began. Furthermore, future research should identify knowledge gaps in the targeted population of HCWs and provide strategies to address them.

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BACKGROUND: With the help of vaccines, the world has witnessed a substantial decrease and even the eradication of many infectious diseases. Many factors influenced the public's acceptance and compliance with the COVID-19 vaccine. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire link was distributed through social media platforms. The questionnaire tool assessed the participants' general knowledge and the barriers to taking the COVID-19 vaccine. All people who are currently living in Saudi Arabia and are at least 16 years old were included in the study and formed the study population. Based on our inclusion criteria, a total of 2,198 individuals were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: Participants who were willing to take the vaccine were 68%. After vaccination, 10% of the participants think they can stop wearing face masks and washing their hands. Two-thirds of the participants think that the vaccine is effective in preventing COVID-19 infection. A total of 44.0% of the participants were afraid of the vaccine. The most common reasons were fear of unknown side effects (53.9%) and believing that the vaccine was not tested enough (27%). More than half of the study participants had a preference for receiving the Pfizer vaccine (52%). CONCLUSION: The public's acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia is insufficient. Unknown side effects, widespread misconceptions, and a lack of adequate safety trials are all important reasons for concern among Saudis. More educational materials and awareness efforts will help to alleviate the fear that surrounds it. This will boost the vaccine's acceptance rate in the long run.

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The total number, morbidity and mortality attributed to viraemic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections change over time making it difficult to compare reported estimates from different years. Models were developed for 15 countries to quantify and characterize the viraemic population and forecast the changes in the infected population and the corresponding disease burden from 2014 to 2030. With the exception of Iceland, Iran, Latvia and Pakistan, the total number of viraemic HCV infections is expected to decline from 2014 to 2030, but the associated morbidity and mortality are expected to increase in all countries except for Japan and South Korea. In the latter two countries, mortality due to an ageing population will drive down prevalence, morbidity and mortality. On the other hand, both countries have already experienced a rapid increase in HCV-related mortality and morbidity. HCV-related morbidity and mortality are projected to increase between 2014 and 2030 in all other countries as result of an ageing HCV-infected population. Thus, although the total number of HCV countries is expected to decline in most countries studied, the associated disease burden is expected to increase. The current treatment paradigm is inadequate if large reductions in HCV-related morbidity and mortality are to be achieved.

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The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic was forecasted through 2030 for 15 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and the relative impact of two scenarios was considered: increased treatment efficacy while holding the annual number of treated patients constant and increased treatment efficacy and an increased annual number of treated patients. Increasing levels of diagnosis and treatment, in combination with improved treatment efficacy, were critical for achieving substantial reductions in disease burden. A 90% reduction in total HCV infections within 15 years is feasible in most countries studied, but it required a coordinated effort to introduce harm reduction programmes to reduce new infections, screening to identify those already infected and treatment with high cure rate therapies. This suggests that increased capacity for screening and treatment will be critical in many countries. Birth cohort screening is a helpful tool for maximizing resources. Among European countries, the majority of patients were born between 1940 and 1985. A wider range of birth cohorts was seen in the Middle East and Asia (between 1925 and 1995).

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Detailed, country-specific epidemiological data are needed to characterize the burden of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection around the world. With new treatment options available, policy makers and public health officials must reconsider national strategies for infection control. In this study of 15 countries, published and unpublished data on HCV prevalence, viraemia, genotype, age and gender distribution, liver transplants and diagnosis and treatment rates were gathered from the literature and validated by expert consensus in each country. Viraemic prevalence in this study ranged from 0.2% in Iran and Lebanon to 4.2% in Pakistan. The largest viraemic populations were in Pakistan (7 001 000 cases) and Indonesia (3 187 000 cases). Injection drug use (IDU) and a historically unsafe blood supply were major risk factors in most countries. Diagnosis, treatment and liver transplant rates varied widely between countries. However, comparison across countries was difficult as the number of cases changes over time. Access to reliable data on measures such as these is critical for the development of future strategies to manage the disease burden.

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Mucosal barrier disorders play an important role in the pathomechanism of the allergic disease. A new approach for their treatment uses liposomes, which consist of phospholipids that make up 75% of the protective nasal surfactant layer. Our aim was to investigate the efficacy of liposomal-based therapy, as a comprehensive treatment alternative to guideline cromoglycate-based therapy, in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (SAR). We compared nasal and conjunctival symptom reduction with LipoNasal n nasal spray used as monotherapy (LNM), or LipoNasal n nasal spray and Tears Again eye spray combination therapy (LTC), against standard cromoglycate combination therapy (CGC). This prospective, controlled, open observational study was conducted monocentrically. According to their symptoms and preferences 72 patients with SAR were distributed in three equal groups. The study comprised two visits at an interval of 7 days. The efficacy was examined by daily documenting nasal and conjunctival symptom scores. The Nasal-Spray-Sensory-Scale and the Eye-Drops/Spray-Sensory-Scale were used to investigate the tolerability. Quality of life (QoL) was evaluated, using the RHINASTHMA QoL German adapted version. LNM achieved significant improvement in nasal (p < 0.001) and conjunctival symptoms (p = 0.050). The symptom reduction using CGC was equally significant. LTC led to significant nasal symptom relief (p = 0.045). QoL did not improve significantly in all groups (p > 0.05). The tolerability of all treatments was good and no adverse reactions were observed. In all treatment groups the improvement of the nasal and conjunctival symptom scores exceeds the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). The results demonstrate good tolerability and efficacy of non-pharmaceutical liposomal-based treatment (LipoNasal n and Tears Again), given as monotherapy or combination therapy, for nasal and conjunctival symptoms caused by SAR. This study indicates that liposomal-based treatment for SAR may be a comparable alternative to cromoglycate therapy. Further studies are needed to verify these findings.

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During the APOC/WHO Impact Assessment studies in Nigeria held in 1998 and 1999, one thousand and sixty four randomly selected subjects underwent detailed eye examination in three selected sites namely, Cross River State (rain forest ecological zone), Taraba State (savanna ecological zone) and Kogi State (forest- savanna ecological zone). The general objective of the impact assessment studies was to evaluate the ophthalmological impact of onchocerciasis control (CDTI) in Nigeria, this paper highlights the public health significance of ocular onchocerciasis in three different ecological zones in Nigeria. The presence of ocular onchocerciasis was established in all the study sites, with a predominance of posterior segment manifestations, in the rain forest zone. A blindness prevalenc e of 2.4o/o was recorded in the study, with onchocerciasis being responsible for 13 out of the 43 (30.2%) bilaterally blind subjects identified. Onchocerciasis-induced blindness prevalence was relatively high in the rain forest and forest savanna zones of Cross River and Kogi States with Cross River State having the highest site-specific- prevalence (5/10) 50.0% of onchocercal blindness followed by Kogr with (5/12) 41.7%. Taraba site recorded only 27.3% (3121). Other conditions identified included glaucoma, optic nerve disease and cataract rates of which were also found to be high among the population (6.90/o,6.5 % and8.9oh respectively). Anterior segment onchocercal lesions, punctate and sclerosing keratitis were the predominant features of the infection in Taraba site (14.1o/o and 6.3% respectively), a savanna zone while posterior segment lesions were much more common in the forest zone of Cross-River site. Visual field measurements reflected the predominant posterior segment disease. The need to sustain the present efforts aimed at controlling onchocerciasis through mass ivermectin distribution is fuither highlighted. Integration of other Eye Care Programme for the conffol of glaucoma and cataract, into the community directed treatment initiative of APOC for onchocerciasis control should also be strongly considered, in order to drastically reduce the prevalence and incidence of ocular morbidity and blindness, in Nigeria, especially in the onchocerciasis endemic areas.

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