Fatima Y Noureddine1, Mohamed Chakkour2, Ali El Roz3, Jana Reda1, Reem Al Sahily1, Ali Assi1, Mohamed Joma1, Hassan Salami1, Sadek J Hashem1, Batoul Harb4, Ali Salami5, Ghassan Ghssein1,3,6. 1. Medical Analysis Laboratory, Molecular Genetics Unit, Sheikh Ragheb Harb University Hospital (SRHUH), Nabatieh P.O. Box 1700, Lebanon. 2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut P.O. Box 11-0236, Lebanon. 3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Nabatieh P.O. Box 6573/14, Lebanon. 4. Medical administration, SRHUH, Nabatieh P.O. Box 1700, Lebanon. 5. Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, Lebanese University, Nabatieh P.O. Box 6573/14, Lebanon. 6. Department of Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Islamic University of Lebanon, Khalde P.O. Box 30014, Lebanon.
Abstract
Background: An outbreak of an unknown respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and was referred to as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Soon after, it was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 mainly infects the respiratory tract with different outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe critical illness leading to death. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging of which three have raised concerns worldwide due to their high transmissibility among populations. Objective: To study the prevalence of COVID-19 in the region of Nabatieh-South Lebanon during the past year and assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their effect on the spread of infection during times of lockdown. Methods: In our study, 37,474 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected and analyzed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in suspected patients attending a tertiary health care center in South Lebanon during the period between 16 March 2020 and 21 February 2021. Results: The results demonstrated a variation in the prevalence rates ranging from less than 1% during full lockdown of the country to 8.4% upon easing lockdown restrictions and reaching 27.5% after the holidays and 2021 New Year celebrations. Interestingly, a new variant(s) appeared starting January 2021 with a significant positive association between the prevalence of positive tests and the percentage of the variant(s). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the lockdown implemented by the Lebanese officials was an effective intervention to contain COVID-19 spread. Our study also showed that lifting lockdown measures during the holidays, which allowed indoor crowded gatherings to occur, caused a surge in COVID-19 cases and rise in the mortality rates nationwide. More importantly, we confirmed the presence of a highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant(s) circulating in the Lebanese community from at least January 2021 onwards.
Background: An outbreak of an unknown respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and was referred to as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Soon after, it was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 mainly infects the respiratory tract with different outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe critical illness leading to death. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging of which three have raised concerns worldwide due to their high transmissibility among populations. Objective: To study the prevalence of COVID-19 in the region of Nabatieh-South Lebanon during the past year and assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their effect on the spread of infection during times of lockdown. Methods: In our study, 37,474 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected and analyzed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in suspected patients attending a tertiary health care center in South Lebanon during the period between 16 March 2020 and 21 February 2021. Results: The results demonstrated a variation in the prevalence rates ranging from less than 1% during full lockdown of the country to 8.4% upon easing lockdown restrictions and reaching 27.5% after the holidays and 2021 New Year celebrations. Interestingly, a new variant(s) appeared starting January 2021 with a significant positive association between the prevalence of positive tests and the percentage of the variant(s). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the lockdown implemented by the Lebanese officials was an effective intervention to contain COVID-19 spread. Our study also showed that lifting lockdown measures during the holidays, which allowed indoor crowded gatherings to occur, caused a surge in COVID-19 cases and rise in the mortality rates nationwide. More importantly, we confirmed the presence of a highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant(s) circulating in the Lebanese community from at least January 2021 onwards.
Authors: Julian W Tang; Miguela A Caniza; Mike Dinn; Dominic E Dwyer; Jean-Michel Heraud; Lance C Jennings; Jen Kok; Kin On Kwok; Yuguo Li; Tze Ping Loh; Linsey C Marr; Eva Megumi Nara; Nelun Perera; Reiko Saito; Carlos Santillan-Salas; Sheena Sullivan; Matt Warner; Aripuanã Watanabe; Sabeen Khurshid Zaidi Journal: Interface Focus Date: 2022-02-11 Impact factor: 3.906
Authors: Ho Yeung Lam; Cheong Chi Andrew Lau; Chi Hong Wong; Ka Yin Karen Lee; Sum Lisa Yip; Ka Lun Alan Tsang; Kwok Chu Peter Cheng; Ka Wing Albert Au; Ho Leung Ken Ng; Shuk Kwan Chuang; Man Kin Ronald Lam Journal: IJID Reg Date: 2021-11-13