Cases Of COVID-19 Infection Research Articles

Frequent and unpredictable changes in COVID-19 policies and restrictions reduce the accuracy of model forecasts

Between June and August 2020, an agent-based model was used to project rates of COVID-19 infection incidence and cases diagnosed as positive from 15 September to 31 October 2020 for 72 geographic settings. Five scenarios were modelled: a baseline scenario where no future changes were made to existing restrictions, and four scenarios representing small or moderate changes in restrictions at two intervals. Post hoc, upper and lower bounds for number of diagnosed Covid-19 cases were compared with actual data collected during the prediction window. A regression analysis with 17 covariates was performed to determine correlates of accurate projections. It was found that the actual data fell within the lower and upper bounds in 27 settings and out of bounds in 45 settings. The only statistically significant predictor of actual data within the predicted bounds was correct assumptions about future policy changes (OR 15.04; 95% CI 2.20–208.70; p = 0.016). Frequent changes in restrictions implemented by governments, which the modelling team was not always able to predict, in part explains why the majority of model projections were inaccurate compared with actual outcomes and supports revision of projections when policies are changed as well as the importance of modelling teams collaborating with policy experts.

Contributory conditions for unexpected COVID-19 cases and nosocomial COVID-19 infection cases identified from systematic investigation in a French University Hospital

IntroductionNosocomial case (NC) of COVID-19 infections is a challenge for hospitals. We report the results of a seven-month prospective cohort study investigating COVID-19 patients to assess unexpected cases (UC) (no COVID-19 precautionary measure application since admission) and NC. Patients and methodsInvestigation by an infection control team of 844 patients with COVID-19 infection hospitalized for more than 24 hours (cases). ResultsA total of 301 UC were identified (31% after contact tracing) with a total of 129 contact patients, and 27 secondary cases for 59 of them. In geriatric wards, 50% of cases were UC. NC represented 18% of cases (37% in geriatric wards), mainly identified after contact tracing of wandering cases. ConclusionA rapid infection control response is essential to contain nosocomial transmission, along with detailed contact tracing and screening policy. Dealing with wandering elderly patients remain challenging for HCWs.

AIUM Official Statement: Guidelines for Cleaning and Preparing External- and Internal-Use Ultrasound Transducers and Equipment Between Patients as Well as Safe Handling and Use of Ultrasound Coupling Gel.

AIUM Official Statement: Guidelines for Cleaning and Preparing External- and Internal-Use Ultrasound Transducers and Equipment Between Patients as Well as Safe Handling and Use of Ultrasound Coupling Gel.

Pengetahuan Orangtua dan Penerapan Protokol Kesehatan Pencegahan Covid-19 Pada Anak Prasekolah

Background of Study: The Covid-19 pandemic has been declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) since March 2020 and in Indonesia it has been declared as a type of disease that causes a public health emergency. Covid-19 can be transmitted from person to person through coughing droplets or saliva. Parental knowledge and good application of the Covid-19 health protokol in pre-school children are very important so that there is no cause an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection cases in pre-school children. Objective this study is to determine the relationship between parental knowledge and the implementation of the Covid-19 health protokol in pre-school children.Methods: non-experimental type with a cross sectional research design was used in this research. The population of this study were parents of preschool children at PAUD Little Care Surya Global Yogyakarta. The total population was 40 people. Total sampling was used as sampling technique. The instruments used were in the form of a Covid-19 prevention knowledge questionnaire and a questionnaire on the implementation of the Covid-19 prevention protokol which was developed by the researcher himself. The statistical test used was the Kendall's Tau test. Results: The majority of parents' knowledge of the Covid-19 health protokol was in the good category, as many as 30 respondents (75.0%). The implementation of the covid 19 health protokol for preschool children was mostly in the good category, as many as 32 respondents (80.0%). Parents who have good knowledge of Covid-19 prevention health protocols will tend to apply good health protocols to their children. The results of the Kendall tau statistical test obtained a correlation coefficient value of 0.422 with p value = 0.007 (p-value 0.05).Conclusion: There was a relationship between parental knowledge and the application of health protocols in preschool children at Little Care Surya Global Yogyakarta.Keywords: Parents; knowledge; preschool children; Covid-19.

Governmental anti-pandemic policies, vaccination, population mobility, Twitter narratives, and the spread of COVID-19: Evidence from the European Union countries.

We provide large-scale empirical evidence on the effects of multiple governmental regulatory and health policies, vaccination, population mobility, and COVID-19-related Twitter narratives on the spread of a new coronavirus infection. Using multiple-level fixed effects panel data model with weekly data for 27 European Union countries in the period of March 2020-June 2021, we show that governmental response policies were effective both in reducing the number of COVID-19 infection cases and deaths from it, particularly, in the countries with higher level of rule of law. Vaccination expectedly helped to decrease the number of virus cases. Reductions in population mobility in public places and workplaces were also powerful in fighting the pandemic. Next, we identify four core pandemic-related Twitter narratives: governmental response policies, people's sad feelings during the pandemic, vaccination, and pandemic-related international politics. We find that sad feelings' narrative helped to combat the virus spread in EU countries. Our findings also reveal that while in countries with high rule of law international politics' narrative helped to reduce the virus spread, in countries with low rule of law the effect was strictly the opposite. The latter finding suggests that trust in politicians played an important role in confronting the pandemic.

Prevalence of Malaria and COVID-19 Infection in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.

The prevalence of malaria and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly devastating and has led to a serious public health challenge worldwide. In order to ensure proper control and elimination, the State Ministry of Health (MoH) Ondo State, Nigeria conducted medical examinations in Iju/Itaogbolu, Igoba, and Ogbese Health centers to identify and confirm cases of COVID-19 and malaria infection. This study provides the outcome of the epidemiological investigation of the prevalence of COVID-19 and malaria in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. The study was a hospital-based secondary data analysis comprising of 11,389 and 682 individuals who visited various health centers in Akure North Local Government Area (LGA) for medical examinations on malaria and COVID-19, respectively. The COVID-19 cases were investigated using the fluid sample collected with a nasal swab or a throat swab, or spit of saliva into a tube and confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) RDT was employed to detect the P.falciparum antigen among participants' blood samples. The total prevalence of malaria and COVID-19 were 67.6% and 12.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the month of September recorded the highest malaria prevalence of 81.8% while the month of April recorded the least malaria prevalence of 56.4%. Similarly, the highest case of COVID-19 (18.8%) was recorded in the month of November while the least case (2.4%) was recorded in the month of April (p < 0.05). The age range of 12-59 months had the highest malaria prevalence of 74.9% while 0-24 days age range recorded the least prevalence of 15.2% (p > 0.05). Apparently, the children were more infected with malaria parasites while adults were more infected with COVID-19. Conclusively, malaria and COVID-19 infections were prevalent in the study area. Thus, the people should be enlightened on the deadly risk of malaria and COVID-19 through the health workers, social media, and the community leaders to ensure compliance with appropriate preventive measures.

Monitoring the infection rate: Explaining the meaning of metrics in pandemic news experiences

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forward questions of what citizens need and want from journalism in a global crisis. In this article, we analyse one particular aspect of pandemic news experiences: Preoccupation with monitoring metrics for COVID-19 infection cases, hospitalisations, and deaths, widely disseminated through journalistic news outlets. We ask why close monitoring of such metrics appeared meaningful to news users, and what these experiences can tell us about the role of journalism in the pandemic information environment. Our analysis draws on qualitative research conducted in Norway in 2020, finding users particularly devoted to monitoring metrics, both in early lockdown and during the second wave of COVID-19. To contextualize our findings, we draw on scholarship on emotional responses to data in the everyday, and on the social role of journalism. We argue that monitoring of infection rates is an expression of trust in the media as a provider of factual information, also expressed by those who are cynical towards other aspects of journalism, and we conceptualise this monitoring practice as a coping strategy to deal with the pandemic as an unknown and uncontrollable threat, involving difficult emotions of uncertainty and fear.

Forecasting COVID-19 Infection Using Encoder-Decoder LSTM and Attention LSTM Algorithms

The COVID-19 epidemic has in fact placed the whole community in a dire predicament that has led to numerous tragedies, including an economic downturn, political unrest, and job losses. Forecasting and identifying COVID-19 infection cases is crucial for the government at all levels because the pandemic grows exponentially and results in fatalities. Hence, by giving information about the spread of the epidemic, the government can move quickly at multiple levels to establish new policies and modalities in order to minimize the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on both public health and the economic sectors. Forecasting models for COVID-19 infection cases in the Ural region in Russia were developed using two deep Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) learning-based approaches namely Encoder–Decoder LSTM and Attention LSTM algorithms. The models were evaluated based on five standard performance evaluation metrics which include Mean Square Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root MSE (RMSE), Relative RMSE (RRMSE), and coefficient of determination (R2). However, the Encoder–Decoder LSTM deep learning-based forecasting model achieved the best performance results (MSE=32794.09, MAE=168.56, RMSE=181.09, RRMSE=13.46, and R2=0.87) compared to the model developed with Attention LSTM models.

Сочетанное течение геморрагической лихорадки с почечным синдромом и коронавирусной инфекции COVID-19

Udmurt Republic is an endemic region for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). An extremely high incidence of COVID-19 in 2020-2021 worldwide and in Udmurt Republic in particular suggests that patients might bear these two infections simultaneously. In this article, we report a case of mixed COVID-19 plus HFRS infection. Specific clinical manifestations of HFRS in a COVID-19-coinfected patient included long-term fatigue, thrombocytopenia, iso(hypo)sthenuria, polyuria, episodes of sinus tachycardia and hypertension. On the other hand, the main clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in a HFRS-coinfected patient included no clinical signs of respiratory failure and relatively high saturation despite a substantial lung damage. In general, mixed infection is a risk factor that aggravates the disease and can worsen outcome. However, simultaneous infection of a cell with more than one virus probably causes viral interference, which results in suppression of one or both viruses. Key words: COVID-19, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, viral interference

Calcinosis cutis in a patient with severe COVID-19 infection

Background: Atypical presentation of calcinosis cutis in the context of COVID-19 infection complicated by acute renal failure has not been described in literature. We report a case of severe COVID-19 infection and its associated uncommon skin manifestation. It is a rare condition and its association with different diseases has been established in the past. However, to the authors’ knowledge, calcinosis cutis has not yet been described in relation to COVID-19 infection complicated by acute renal failure. Case Presentation: Here we describe a case of a 55-year-old gentleman admitted to the intensive care unit with severe COVID-19 infection whose hospital stay was complicated by acute renal failure and development of hypocalcemia which was treated with oral and intravenous calcium. Subsequently, he developed an atypical fleshy lesion on his left ankle during his in-patient stay which was histologically proven calcinosis cutis. It was successfully treated with topical medications. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of considering a wide differential of skin lesions including calcinosis cutis in patients who are critically unwell with COVID-19 or any other severe infections and develop isolated skin lesions in the setting of impaired renal functions and abnormal calcium phosphate metabolism with calcium administration.

Arterial stiffness and vascular ageing in COVID-19 recovered young patients – A comparative study

Background: Many studies suggest the effect of SARS-COV2 on the renin angiotensin system causing arterial stiffness in acute cases of COVID-19 infection. However, no study has been conducted to analyze the long-term effect. Hence, this study was planned. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, pulse wave velocity, ankle brachial index, arterial stiffness index, and percentage mean arterial pressure (MAP) in COVID-19 recovered young patients without any history of comorbidity and compare it to apparently healthy age-matched controls. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional case–control study was conducted at a tertiary care center on 120 healthy volunteers in the age group 18–30 years after written informed consent. Inclusion Criteria: Cases are patients with a history of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive COVID-19 report, age-matched control having no history of RT-PCR positive report. Group P (6–12 months), Group Q (more than 12–18 months), and Group R (more than 18 months) after being tested RT-PCR positive. Group C is the control. The analysis of variance test was used for analysis. Results: Heart rate and peripheral pulse wave velocity are significantly increased in all three groups as compared to the control. Right brachial and right ankle arterial stiffness index and percentage MAP in the right and left ankle are significantly increased in all three case groups compared to the control group. Conclusion: The patients with a history of COVID-19 infection are at an increased risk of arterial stiffness and vascular ageing.

Serum CRP interacts with SPARC and regulate immune response in severe cases of COVID-19 infection.

Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) has been found elevated during COVID-19 infection, and associated with systematic inflammation as well as a poor clinical outcome. However, how did CRP participated in the COVID-19 pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Here, we report that serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are correlated with megakaryocyte marker genes and could regulate immune response through interaction with megakaryocytes. Molecular dynamics simulation through ColabFold showed a reliable interaction between monomeric form of CRP (mCRP) and the secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC). The interaction does not affect the physiological activities of SPARC while would be disturbed by pentamerization of CRP. Interplay between SPARC and mCRP results in a more intense immune response which may led to poor prognosis. This study highlights the complex interplay between inflammatory markers, megakaryocytes, and immune regulation in COVID-19 and sheds light on potential therapeutic targets.

Comparison of Delta and Omicron variant of COVID-19 infection cases in Montenegro

Introduction/Objective. At the end of 2021, Omicron wave (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant superseded the Delta variant (B.1.617). The main goal of the research is to provide a detailed and comprehensive presentation of data related to people infected with the coronavirus in Montenegro. The specific goal of the research is to determine whether virus mutations influenced the course of the epidemic during its two-year duration. Methods. This is a retrospective study. We used data from the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro. Our sample consisted of 127,134 people who tested positive for Delta or Omicron infection aged 0?100 years, who had a positive PCR test for COVID-19 between August 17, 2021 and April 17, 2022. Results. The respondents aged 40?49 years were taken as a reference group for age. The results showed that the age group from 20 to 29 years old was affected 1.03 times more than the reference group ? persons belonging to the age group of 30?39 years were affected 1.07 times more than the reference group. The Central region was taken as the reference group for the region. The results showed that people who live in southern region got sick 1.14 times more often and people who live in northern region got sick 1.20 times less than people from the central region. Conclusion. The biggest predictor that a person would get sick is the age group. Also, the predictor is the region, and in our research, it was southern region.

Use of WeChat to gratify information needs of the Chinese community in Portugal during the COVID-19 outbreak

[Objectives] This paper seeks to characterize the main themes of COVID-19-related posts delivered by WeChat official accounts targeting Portuguese news, and explore the information needs and preferences of their users. Furthermore, the current study set out to evaluate the influence of coronavirus situation in Portugal on the number of posts, view frequency and total engagement on WeChat platforms. [Methods] Following the selection of COVID-19-related posts published in 2021 by four official accounts targeting Portuguese news, Chi-square tests were conducted to quantitively describe the differences between the four developmental stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. Negative binominal regression was employed to establish an association between category variables and count data. Regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between COVID-19 infection cases in Portugal and the metrics of selected posts. [Results] A total of 3292 COVID-19-related posts remained. The posts regarding the latest epidemic situation in Portugal, COVID-19 vaccination and the economic news were more prevalent. However, the predominant posts were not consistent with followers’ information demands, and the most in demand information did not generate more engagement. In addition, thematic categories were found to be significantly associated with view frequency and total engagement. Furthermore, a significant difference in thematic categories was identified among the four developmental stages, which in turn was found to be related to the overall engagement of posts. The COVID-19 official case counts in Portugal is predictive of post frequency, view frequency and total engagement. [Conclusions] The results of this study support the view that social media provided diverse information sources for migrants during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is evidently clear from the findings that communicators have to leverage the characteristics of social media, not only for delivering real-time news, but also to gratify public information needs and attract more users.

Relationship Between Closed Contact and Pediatric COVID-19 in Panjatan II Health Center Kulon Progo

BackgroundIt is estimated that the positive infection rate of COVID-19 in Indonesia is 4.261.412 cases confirmed. Indonesian Pediatric Society noted that since May 2021, cases of pediatric COVID-19 infection have been rising; it is related to many factors such as host immunity, nutrition, sociodemographics, and close contact. Our research evaluated the closed contact factor with confirmed cases in a family member or household contact and pediatric COVID-19 infection, the incidence of pediatric COVID-19, the association between closed contact with confirmed cases in family members and pediatric COVID-19 infection. MethodsOur research uses the observational analytics method, cohort retrospective design, based on medical records, 242 samples collected, period November 2020-November 2021, with sampling technique consecutive nonrandom sampling; our inclusion criteria are 0-18 years old, have positive or negative antigen swab or RT-PCR, wholly followed up by the health center. ResultsUsing chi-square in SPSS application, our research stated Mother and Father are the main sources of household contact transmission, children 12-18 years old, women sex are the highest number the incidence, statistical result p&lt;0,05. ConclusionsAccordingly, there is an association between closed contact with confirmed cases in family members and pediatric COVID-19 infection.

Status of COVID-19 Infection and Vaccination in People Aged 18 Years and over in a Town: A Cross-Sectional Study in Turkey

Objective. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cases of COVID-19 infection in people &gt;18 years old and to investigate attitudes against vaccination and vaccine hesitancy and the factors affecting them. Methods. The data collection form used in the study was prepared by the researchers by screening the relevant literature. People over the age of 18 who agreed to participate in the study were invited to the family health center, and a questionnaire was applied by face-to-face interview method. The application time of a survey was 5-10 minutes. A total of 229 people were reached. Percentage of reaching was 95,4%. Results. The mean age of the participants was 44 , 13 ± 14 , 18 years. 31,9% of the participants in the study had COVID-19 infections. 69,9% of those who had COVID-19 infection caught the disease in the last year, and 93,2% were followed at home. Among the people with whom the participants lived, 21,6% of those who had COVID-19 infection were hospitalized and 5,7% died. Of the participants who expressed their opinion, 32,1% think that COVID-19 vaccines have serious side effects. Postvaccine side effects developed in 32,9% of the participants who had the COVID-19 vaccine, and 11,0% had a postvaccine infection. Conclusion. The results of our study revealed that the COVID-19 vaccine was highly accepted among the adult population in Turkey during the pandemic period. However, through this study, we found concerns about the side effects of the vaccine, the lack of confidence in the vaccine ingredient, and the effectiveness of the vaccine.

CLASSIFICATION OF COVID, PNEUMONIA, OR STANDARD X-RAY IMAGES USING A NEURAL NETWORK

The current global Covid-19 pandemic is linked to SARS-CoV-2, an acute respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus that is highly contagious and whose evolution is unidentified. More than 1 million cases of Covid-19 infection have been confirmed worldwide using the existing case definition, based on the diagnosis of Pneumonia, and the associated mortality rate has fluctuated around 2%. Current laboratory tests may not be widely available to a growing infected population, but new screening strategies are required. Chest CT as a screening tool has yet to be determined. Recent studies have demonstrated a central role of CT in the early detection and management of Covid-19 pulmonary manifestations. It has shown high sensitivity but limited specificity. We present a Neural Network in TensorFlow and Keras based on Covid-19 and Pneumonia classification. The proposed system is based on CNN using images to classify Covid-19 or Pneumonia in this system using the CNN model. It is predicted that the success of the obtained results will increase if the CNN method is supported by adding different feature extraction methods and images to classify successfully by covid-19 or Pneumonia. Keywords: Deep Learning, TensorFlow, Keras, CNN

ANALYSIS OF OPTIMUM CONTROL ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VACCINATION AND QUARANTINE ON THE SPREAD OF COVID-19

This study constructs an SVIR-type COVID-19 spread model into a model with control variables or optimum control problems. In the formulation of the model with controls, we set four control variables, namely vaccination strategy, quarantine, reduction of vaccine shrinkage, and treatment. Pontryagin 's maximum principle is applied in the model as a sufficient condition to achieve optimum conditions for minimizing the objective function . This study uses a numerical solution to describe the theoretical results. The results showed that the control model could accelerate the decrease in the number of individuals in the infected population class. We found that vaccination is a top priority that needs to be done to reduce the number of cases of COVID-19 infection. In addition, the implementation of quarantine can also be considered to accelerate the decrease in the number of individuals infected with COVID-19.

Stock Market Volatility Response to COVID-19: Evidence from Thailand

This study investigated how stock market volatility responded dynamically to unexpected changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting uncertainty in Thailand. Using a multivariate GARCH-BEKK model, the conditional volatility dynamics, the interlinkages, and the conditional correlations between stock market volatility and the increasing rate of COVID-19 infection cases are examined. The increased rate of COVID-19 infections impacts stock returns detrimentally; in Thailand, stock market volatility responses are asymmetric in the increase and decline situations. This disparity is due to the unfavourable impact of the pandemic’s volatility. Finally, we acknowledge that directional volatility spillover effects exist between the increase in COVID-19 cases and stock returns, suggesting that time-varying conditional correlations occur and are generally positive. Using this study’s results, governments and financial institutions can devise strategies for subsequent recessions or financial crises. Furthermore, investment managers can manage portfolio risk and forecast patterns in stock market volatility. Academics can apply our methodology in future investment trend studies to analyse additional variables in the economic system, such as the value of the US dollar, the price of commodities, or GDP.

Anukta vyadhi femoral head avascular necrosis from Ayurveda perspective

Ayurveda, the science of life deals not only with the health of individual but also with disease state. Most of the diseases mentioned in Samhita are the diseases that occurred at that period of time. Lifestyle changes and infections are the unavoidable causes for the newly emerging diseases. Such diseases can be categorized as “Anukta vyadhi”. Anukta literally means unspecified or unstated. These diseases cannot be identified in Classical texts but can be understood with the eternal principles mentioned in Ayurveda texts. These Principles not only help in understanding the pathophysiology of diseases mentioned in Ayurveda but also prove to be useful to understand newly emerging disease pathology in terms of Ayurveda perspective. Avascular necrosis (AVN) is considered one amongst such Anukta vyadhi. There is increase in the incidence of AVN after COVID pandemic situation due to excess use of steroids to treat moderate to severe cases of Covid-19 infection. So, an attempt is made to understand etiopathology of femoral head avascular necrosis from Ayurveda Principles.