Search

This paper explored the determinants of well-being, quality of relationships (QOR), and loneliness among people of Botswana before and during the novel COVID-19 pandemic. It also examined whether there were significant differences between participants' well-being, loneliness, and QOR before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors associated with the well-being, loneliness, and QOR of the Botswana population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were also explored. A cross-sectional design was used to collect information on the three variables before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using online platforms. Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants (N = 422) using the WHO-5, Three-Item Loneliness Scale, and the Relationship Quality Index (RQI). Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate mixed-effects linear models. Age, relationship status, concern about own and family health, difficulty switching on and off media reporting on COVID, change in lifestyle, participation in sports, and resting were significantly associated with well-being (p\.001) and loneliness (p\.05). Sleep was associated with QOR. There were significant differences in the well-being, QOR, and loneliness scores before COVID-19 conditions and during COVID-19 conditions. Stakeholders should take cognizance of the impact of predictor variables on well-being and loneliness to mitigate the impact of current and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several countries, including Bahrain, used wastewater surveillance for disease activity monitoring. This study aimed to determine the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in untreated wastewater and to correlate it with the disease spread. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted for all wastewater samples tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 in public health laboratories from November 2020 to October 2022. Samples were collected weekly between February and October 2022 from different areas across Bahrain. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used to test for the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in wastewater, and the results were correlated with the number of COVID‐19 cases in the same area. Results: Of 387 wastewater samples, 103 (26.6%) samples tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. In late 2020, of 42 samples collected initially, four (9.5%) samples tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 in the four locations that hosted COVID‐19 isolation facilities. Between February and October 2022, 345 specimens of wastewater were tested, and 99 (28.7%) were positive. The highest detection rate was in February, June, and July (60%, 45%, and 43%, respectively), which corresponded to COVID‐19 peaks during 2022, and the lowest detection rate was in August and September (11% and 0%, respectively), corresponding to the low number of COVID‐19 cases. Conclusion: The detection rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 in wastewater samples from Bahrain was high and was significantly correlated with the number of reported COVID‐19 cases. Wastewater surveillance can aid the existing surveillance system in monitoring SARS‐CoV‐2 spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aims to investigate depression, anxiety, stress, and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated risk factors among Bangladeshi medical students. It also explored qualitative insights on mental health from medical students during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: This mixed-methods study was conducted online in Bangladesh from June 2020 to September 2020. Participants were Bangladeshi medical students from the first year to the final year. The quantitative part included a structured online survey. One focus group discussion (FGD) was organized using the Zoom platform to collect qualitative insights from the students. To determine levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, the Bangla-validated version of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) was used. A 7-item and Bangla-validated Fear of COVID-19 Scale, also known as FCV-19S, was used to explore the COVID-19-specific fear of the students. A semi-structured topic guide was used for exploring the qualitative insights of medical students’ perceptions of fear of COVID-19, mental health impacts during COVID-19, overall recommendations to support students, and the impact of the pandemic on the future of the medical curriculum. Results: The study reported that 51.20%, 59.40%, and 64% of the 406 respondents had moderate to severe stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, respectively, according to the DASS-21. The mean fear score for the COVID-19 scale was 19.4 (SD 6.4). Respondents with family members aged 50 years or older (B = 2.1; CI: 0.3-3.9) and those who had infected family members (B = 1.9; 95% CI: 0.1-3.7) exhibited a higher level of fear of COVID-19. Moreover, depression was associated with a history of having cancer among family members (AOR = 2.9, CI: 1.1-7.5), anxiety was strongly associated with having symptoms of COVID-19 (AOR = 2, CI: 1.3-3.2), and stress was associated with having symptoms of COVID-19 infection among family members (AOR = 1.9, CI: 1.3-3). Altered sleep was a potential risk factor for developing stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Manual thematic analysis of qualitative data generated four major themes, including the perception of fear of COVID-19, the perception of mental health impacts during COVID-19, the change in the medical curriculum along with the pandemic, and recommendations from the medical students to support the mental health concerns of medical students during public health crises like this pandemic. Qualitative findings showed that the participants experienced fear of their parents becoming infected by COVID-19, and this fear was more prominent in those who had their loved ones hospitalized. They were also stressed and anxious, with thoughts of death. Their fear also extended to their thoughts on academic progress and the effectiveness of online classes. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of medical students experienced mental health diffculties in Bangladesh. Appropriate interventions should be designed, and adequate support should be provided to the medical students to protect their mental health and wellbeing, considering their potential impact on the future health system in a low-resource setting like Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly infected people worldwide, leading to a massive public reaction. Peoples' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19 are the most important for the control and prevention of the infectious disease pandemic. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices (KAP) toward the COVID-19 among Bangladeshi residents during the lockdown situation. Subjects and methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1765 Bangladeshi adults through the social media networks of the authors. Results: The respondents were older than 18 years, with an average age of 24.88 years (SD 6.30). Approximately 15% of our participants received online training. The mean knowledge score was 14.49 (SD 1.8, range 0–17), and the overall correct response rate on this knowledge test was 85%. Approximately 67.2% scored well (above the mean 4.5, range 1–5) regarding the practices. To avoid the infection, 96.6% wore masks outside the home, and 98.7% washed their hands with soap when they came back. COVID-19 knowledge score was significantly associated with a lower odds of (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.79–0.92) negative attitudes. Again, the awareness score was associated with a lower likelihood of (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.87–0.98) poor practices. Conclusion: Online health education programs focusing on young people, housewives, and people with less education may potentially improve the attitudes and practices to control the COVID-19 pandemic in the long term in such a low-resource setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic vulnerability imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic induces stress on mental health of wage earners in Bangladesh which is largely unexplored. This evidence gap was addressed in this study aiming to evaluate the mental health difficulties among Bangladeshi wage earners by assessing the associated factors influencing anxiety, depressive symptoms and sleep patterns. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 707 individual Bangladeshi wage earners in May 2020. The questionnaire included information about sleep duration, the Patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7) scales. The study revealed that anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with male sex, higher educational status, service holder occupation and lower monthly income (p ≤ 0.01). Fear of COVID-19 when working outside during the pandemic situation was inextricably linked with anxiety (AOR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.42–3.04) and depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.04–2.20). Respondents who were responsible to financially support their family experienced significantly decreased duration of sleep (β = −0.68; 95% CI: −1.18 to −0.20). The results of this study provided novel evidence on psychological difficulties among Bangladeshi wage earners which calls for an in-depth and longitudinal evaluation and immediate low-intensity psychosocial interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food antioxidants can prevent or/and delay free radical formation which is responsible for oxidative stress. Nowadays, natural remedy becomes the highest concern in many countries, as well as discouraging the intake of synthetic counterparts to avoid the burden of side effects on human health. Regular intake of dietary antioxidants could help to improve the fitness of the body, and subsequently make the body more competitive in its fight against diseases through enhanced immune response. The present review thus summarised recent knowledge on the dietary source of antioxidants, and also mechanism of action and functionalities on human health benefits. Due to the proven ability to restore mitochondrial function and cellular redox balance, food antioxidants also have great potential as natural therapies against COVID-19. However, the numbers of trials are still limited. There must be more tests with the hope that these compounds will mitigate the COVID-19 and similar outbreaks in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic use of Internet (PUI) and problematic use of Facebook (PUF) has been linked to escalating behavioral health issues among university students and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study estimated the prevalence of and explored associated factors for PUI and PUF among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken among 1101 Bangladeshi university students between November and December 2020. The Internet Addiction Test and Facebook Addiction Scale were used to assess PIU and PUF, respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounders. Among the participants, PUI and PUF were found in 39.3% and 37.1%, respectively. The multiple linear regression model indicated PUI was significantly associated with participants residing in a village, arts majors, those unsatisfied with their major, having mediocre parental relationships, failure in romantic relationships, physical comorbidities, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, using social media, and downloading movies/TV series. PUF was significantly associated with village residence, lower income, arts majors, failure in romantic relationships, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, and downloading movies/TV series. Both PUI and PUF have been prevalent among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal & exploratory studies are warranted in the future to identify causal factors for PUI and PUF and appropriate interventions should be designed quickly for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 virus) pandemic has led to a substantial loss of human life worldwide by providing an unparalleled challenge to the public health system. The economic, psychological, and social disarray generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is devastating. Public health experts and epidemiologists worldwide are struggling to formulate policies on how to control this pandemic as there is no effective vaccine or treatment available which provide long-term immunity against different variants of COVID-19 and to eradicate this virus completely. As the new cases and fatalities are recorded daily or weekly, the responses are likely to be repeated or longitudinally correlated. Thus, studying the impact of available covariates and new cases on deaths from COVID-19 repeatedly would provide significant insights into this pandemic's dynamics. For a better understanding of the dynamics of spread, in this paper, we study the impact of various risk factors on the new cases and deaths over time. To do that, we propose a marginal-conditional based joint modelling approach to predict trajectories, which is crucial to the health policy planners for taking necessary measures. The conditional model is a natural choice to study the underlying property of dependence in consecutive new cases and deaths. Using this model, one can examine the relationship between outcomes and predictors, and it is possible to calculate risks of the sequence of events repeatedly. The advantage of repeated measures is that one can see how individual responses change over time. The predictive accuracy of the proposed model is also compared with various machine learning techniques. The machine learning algorithms used in this paper are extended to accommodate repeated responses. The performance of the proposed model is illustrated using COVID-19 data collected from the Texas Health and Human Services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Facebook addiction (FA) has been suggested as a potential behavioral addiction. There is a severe lack of research evidence regarding the Facebook addiction behavior among university students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with Facebook addiction among Bangladeshi university students. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 2,161 Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic from June 2021 to September 2021. A well fitted regression model in R programming language was used for this study. Results: Female respondents and those whose family monthly income was <25,000 BDT were more addicted to Facebook than other respondents. Respondents who lost a family member or a relative to COVID-19, engaged in physical activities (exercise) during the pandemic, used Facebook for work purposes or used Facebook to relieve daily stress were more addicted to Facebook. Conclusion: Overuse of social media is problematic as it can trigger several mental health symptoms, especially among students. Adequate and effective interventions are required to educate students about the dangers of Facebook addiction and to provide an alternative, healthy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the presence of depressive symptoms and understand the potential factors associated with these symptoms among physicians in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted in between April 21 and May 10, 2020, among physicians living in Bangladesh. Participants completed a series of demographic questions, COVID-19-related questions, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation), test statistics (chi-squared test and logistic regression) were performed to explore the association between physicians' experience of depression symptoms and other study variables. Stepwise binary logistic regression was followed while conducting the multivariable analysis. Result: A total of 390 physicians completed the survey. Of them, 283 (72.6%) were found to be experiencing depressive symptoms. Predictors which were significantly associated with depressive symptoms were gender (with females more likely to experience depression than males), the presence of sleep disturbance, being highly exposed to media coverage about the pandemic, and fear around (a) COVID-19 infection, (b) being assaulted/humiliated by regulatory forces and (c) by the general public, while traveling to and from the hospital and treating patients during the countrywide lockdown. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that there is a high prevalence of depressive symptom among physicians especially among female physicians in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediate, adequate and effective interventions addressing gender specific needs are required amid this ongoing crisis and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives. Gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy is a medical field that has been evolving in the last decades. Innovative advances in pediatric endoscopy led to more accurate diagnosis of various GI diseases. This study aimed to assess the appropriateness of endoscopic procedures' indications and to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic yield of pediatric GI endoscopy, considering the limitations to access this facility. Material and Methods. Retrospective, cross-sectional, and analytical chart review was performed for children who underwent GI endoscopy at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain, from 1995 to 2020. Demographic data, endoscopic indications, and findings were collected and compared. Results. Of 1,111 patients, 1,101 (99.1%) were included in the study. 589 (53.6%) patients were males. Median age at the time of endoscopy was 8 (interquartile range 3, 11) years. 1534 endoscopies were performed (1193 upper GI endoscopies (UGIE) and 341 colonoscopies) in 1296 sessions. The mean number of endoscopies per year was 59 ± 30.9 procedures with 81.4% reduction noted after coronavirus pandemic (P < 0.0001). Ratio between UGIE to colonoscopy was 3.5 : 1. Median number of endoscopies per patient was one, ranging from one to eight procedures. 1153 (89%) sessions were diagnostic, and 143 (11.0%) were therapeutic. Main endoscopic indication was chronic abdominal pain (451 (40.9%) patients) followed by upper GI bleeding (302 (27.4%) patients). Overall positive yield was 68.1% (716/1052 procedures). Endoscopic yield varies according to the type of procedure (P = 0.003). Colonoscopy alone gave a higher yield (82.6%, 38/46 procedures) compared to combined procedures (75.4%, 141/187) and UGIE alone (65.6%, 537/819). Conclusions. This study emphasizes a careful selection of the type of endoscopic procedures, based on the expected endoscopic yield, to diagnose and treat pediatric GI diseases. In patients with chronic abdominal pain, endoscopy should be reserved as a second-line tool to avoid unnecessary use of invasive procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has imposed threats on both physical and mental health since its outbreak. This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among a representative sample of home-quarantined Bangladeshi adults. A cross-sectional design was used with an online survey completed by a convenience sample recruited via social media. A total of 1,427 respondents were recruited, and their mental health was assessed by the DASS-21 measure. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms was 33.7% and 57.9%, respectively, and 59.7% reported mild to extremely severe levels of stress. Perceptions that the pandemic disrupted life events, affected mental health, jobs, the economy and education, predictions of a worsening situation, and uncertainty of the health care system capacities were significantly associated with poor mental health outcomes. Multivariate logistic regressions showed that sociodemographic factors and perceptions of COVID-19 significantly predict mental health outcomes. These findings warrant the consideration of easily accessible low-intensity mental health interventions during and beyond this pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify emerging dimensions of communication behavior after the Covid-19 pandemic from the media education perspective. The study applied a survey method to test the relationships between the variables of media use before and after the pandemic, the critical consumption, and the critical prosumption (production and consumption) of the media messages on a sample of male (117) and female (94) Saudi students. Results of the study showed that the average use of media among the respondents is (2.68 out of 4). This average increases significantly in the case of new media applications in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the levels of exposure to traditional media does not show any change. The scale of critical consumption among the respondents changed from (3.49 out of 4) to (3.05 out of 4). The following statistical tests confirm the respondents’ difference in the consumption and prosumption levels according to the Grade Point Average (G.P.A.), implying that a directly proportional relationship is at work between new media use and critical consumption and prosumption levels. Meanwhile, the relationship between exposure to traditional media and critical consumption is rather weak. The correlation is not significant in the case of the prosumption scale. The study concluded that the increase in critical consumption is offset by an increase in critical prosumption. However, the findings call for more research on the effect of intervening variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In addition to risking their physical well-being, frontline physicians are enduring significant emotional burden both at work and home during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to investigate the levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms and to identify associated factors among Bangladeshi physicians during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods and design: A cross-sectional study using an online survey following a convenience sampling technique was conducted between April 21 and May 10, 2020. Outcomes assessed included demographic questions, COVID-19 related questions, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: The survey was completed by 412 Bangladeshi physicians. The findings revealed that, in terms of standardized HADS cut-off points, the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among physicians was 67.72% and 48.5% respectively. Risk factors for higher rates of anxiety or depressive symptoms were: being female, physicians who had experienced COVID-19 like symptoms during the pandemic, those who had not received incentives, those who used self-funded personal protective equipment (PPE), not received adequate training, lacking perceived self-efficacy to manage COVID-19 positive patients, greater perceived stress of being infected, fear of getting assaulted/humiliated, being more connected with social media, having lower income levels to support the family, feeling more agitated, less than 2 h of leisure activity per day and short sleep duration. All these factors were found to be positively associated with anxiety and depression in unadjusted and adjusted statistical models. Conclusions: This study identifies a real concern about the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among Bangladeshi physicians and identifies several associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the vulnerability of the physicians in this extraordinary period whilst they are putting their own lives at risk to help people infected by COVID-19, health authorities should address the psychological needs of medical staff and formulate effective strategies to support vital frontline health workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Effective pandemic management requires understanding the level of community knowledge, attitudes of people, and preparedness towards COVID-19. This study aimed to assess gender differences regarding knowledge, attitudes and preparedness toward the COVID-19, among Bangladeshi adults. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted March-April 2020 among 1050 Bangladeshi adults. A convenience sampling strategy was utilized, and the data were collected online through a self-administered questionnaire. Chisquared tests were used to identify the gender differences regarding knowledge, attitudes and preparedness towards COVID-19. RESULTS Respondents predominately used social media to inform themselves about COVID-19 (68.1%), and females used social media more than males (p<0.001). Females had higher levels of correct knowledge about staying home with sickness and symptoms to prevent the COVID-19 transmission (p=0.02). Males had a more negative attitude about staying out during the pandemic than females (p<0.001); men were less likely to take preventative measures than their female counterparts. Some people believed in misinformation like 'COVID-19 can transmit via mosquitos' (9.1%), and males had more incorrect knowledge regarding this (p<0.001). Moreover, 17.8% of the respondents thought that COVID-19 could spread in warm weather. CONCLUSIONS Males showed a higher tendency to believe the myths about COVID-19 than their female counterparts, which is alarming. Awareness programs should be emphasized, focusing on gender-specific pertinent information to ensure effective preventative measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created several challenges including financial burdens that may result in mental health conditions. This study was undertaken to gauge mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic and gain an insight into wage earners' mental health. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey. A t total of 707 individual Bangladeshi wage earners were enrolled between 20 and 30 May 2020. The questionnaire had sections on sociodemographic information, COVID-19 related questions, PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scales. STATA version 14.1 program was used to carry out all the analyses. Results: The study revealed that 58.6 and 55.9% of the respondents had moderate to severe anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. The total monthly income was <30,000 BDT (353.73USD) and displayed increased odds of suffering from depressive symptoms (OR = 4.12; 95% CI: 2.68–6.34) and anxiety (OR = 3.31; 95% CI: 2.17–5.03). Participants who did not receive salary income, had no income source during the pandemic, had financial problems, and inadequate food supply and were more likely to suffer from anxiety and depressive symptoms (p ≤ 0.01). Perceiving the upcoming financial crisis as a stressor was a potential risk factor for anxiety (OR = 1.91; 95% CI:1.32–2.77) and depressive symptoms (OR = 1.50; 95% CI:1.04–2.16). Limitations: The online survey method used in this study limits the generalizability of the findings and self-reported answers might include selection and social desirability bias as a community-based survey was not possible during the pandemic. Conclusion: Wage earners in a low resource setting like Bangladesh require mental health attention and financial consideration to deal with mental health difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIslamic banks should care about social and environmental issues. However, the economic consequence of social and environmental concerns is still being debated. This study aims to prove the role of economic consequences of social and environmental concerns and market competition on financial performance. Based on the system-oriented view, the entity is assumed to be influenced by, and in turn, to have an influence upon, the society in which it operates, including the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had an impact on bank operations. Based on this argument, this research aims to examine the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in the relationship between social and environmental concerns and market competition on financial performance. This study uses hand-collected data on the annual reports of 14 full-flagged Islamic banks (IBs) in Indonesia between 2009 and 2021. Data were analyzed using GLS regressions with robust standard errors. This study showed that social and environmental concerns and market competition did not affect financial performance. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic plays a major role in the extent to which social and environmental concerns affect financial performance. The findings suggest that directors should increase the effectiveness of the distribution of social funds to improve financial performance.

Since emergency approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children aged between 12 and 15 years old was recently obtained in the United States and Europe, we aimed to assess the willingness to vaccinate children with a COVID-19 vaccine in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, we launched an online cross-sectional survey in several LMICs. Questions relating to socio-demographic information, knowledge of COVID-19, level of fear/worry of being infected with COVID-19, and willingness to vaccinate children with the COVID-19 vaccine at 50%, 75% and 95% effectiveness levels, were asked. Of the 6571 participants (mean age = 39 ± 14 years), 64.0%, 72.6%, and 92.9% were willing to vaccinate children at 50%, 75%, and 95% effectiveness levels, respectively. Respondents who were undergraduates, who were more worried/fearful about COVID-19, had higher knowledge scores regarding COVID-19, and a higher belief that COVID-19 vaccination is important to protect others, were more willing to accept COVID-19 vaccination of children. COVID-19 vaccination of children will limit the spread of the virus, especially in schools; it may decrease the need for school closures which has a negative effect on child development. Findings from this study are useful for health promotion strategies during COVID-19 vaccination implementation among children in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Detection of common respiratory viruses declined during COVID-19 pandemic. • Only 8.9% of SARS-CoV-2 patients were co-infected with rhinovirus/enterovirus. • Saffold virus, rarely detected in adults, was detected using metagenomics analysis. Reports of co-circulation of respiratory viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic and co-infections with SARS-CoV-2 vary. However, limited information is available from developing countries. We aimed to investigate the incidence of respiratory viruses in adult patients with suspected COVID-19 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We collected 198 respiratory samples from adult patients hospitalized with suspected COVID-19 in a single teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur in February-May 2020 and tested combined oro-nasopharyngeal swabs with the NxTAG Respiratory Pathogen Panel (Luminex) and Allplex RV Essential (Seegene) assays. Forty-five negative samples further underwent viral metagenomics analysis. Of the 198 samples, 74 (37.4%) had respiratory pathogens, including 56 (28.3%) with SARS-CoV-2 and 18 (9.1%) positive for other respiratory pathogens. There were five (2.5%) SARS-CoV-2 co-infections, all with rhinovirus/enterovirus. Three samples (6.7%; 3/45) had viruses identified by metagenomics, including one case of enterovirus D68 and one of Saffold virus genotype 6 in a patient requiring ICU care. Most of the COVID-19 patients (91.1%; 51/56) had mild symptoms but 5.4% (3/56) died. During the early COVID-19 period, common respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 only accounted for 9.1% of hospitalization cases with ARI and co-infections with SARS-CoV-2 were rare. Continued surveillance is important to understand the impact of COVID-19 and its associated public health control measures on circulation of other respiratory viruses. Metagenomics can identify unexpected or rare pathogens, such as Saffold virus, which is rarely described in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and PTSS were higher in students with COVID-19 symptoms than their counterparts. • Having suspected COVID-19 symptoms was a significant associated factor for anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, PTSS, and fear of COVID-19. • Students with suspected COVID-19 symptoms thought more that they would be better off dead, or of hurting themselves than their counterparts. • Students with suspected COVID-19 symptoms felt more afraid as if something awful might happen (P < 0.01) than their counterparts. Mental health problems are taking a heavy toll on students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and fear of COVID-19 between students with suspected COVID-19 symptoms and students without any suspected symptoms during the pandemic in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted online among Bangladeshi students from May to July 2020. Anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, PTSS, and fear of COVID-19 were assessed by using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, the Impact of Event Scale, and Fear of COVID-19 Scale, respectively. College and University students were the participants of the study. Among 3777 students, 1259 had suspected COVID-19 symptoms and 2518 had no suspected COVID-19 symptoms. Students who experienced suspected COVID-19 symptoms had higher prevalence (moderate to severe) of depressive symptoms (61.15% vs. 47.62%), anxiety symptoms (44.96% vs. 36.97%), and PTSS (48.3% vs. 39.75%) compared to those who had no such symptoms. The study identified having suspected COVID-19 symptoms as a significant associated factor for anxiety symptoms (β1′ = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.03–1.74), depressive symptoms (β1′ = 1.88; 95% CI: 1.43–2.32), PTSS (β1′ = 3.66; 95% CI: 2.66–4.65), and fear of COVID-19 (β1′ = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.94). Students with suspected COVID-19 symptoms thought more that they would be better off dead, or of hurting themselves (P < 0.01) and felt more afraid as if something awful might happen (P < 0.01) than their counterparts. Mental health difficulties are more prevalent among students with suspected COVID-19 symptoms than the students without having such symptoms. This finding suggests that public health practitioners should deploy a rapid diagnostic system and consider psychological intervention in addition to clinical management for those who have COVID-19 like symptoms during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]