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Abdu Aldarhami,1 Abdulrahman S Bazaid,2,3 Husam Qanash,2,3 Iqbal Ahmad,4 Fahad H Alshammari,2,3 Abdulrahman M Alshammari,2,3 Abdulrahman H Alshammari,2,3 Fahad M Aljanfawe,3 Bushra Aldamiri,5 Esraa Aldawood,6 Mashail A Alghamdi,7 Naif K Binsaleh,2,3 Nizar H Saeedi,8 Mejdi Snoussi3,9,10 1Department of Medical Microbiology, Qunfudah Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Al-Qunfudah, 21961, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Hail, 55476, Saudi Arabia; 3Medical and Diagnostic Research Center, University of Ha’il, Hail, 55473, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India; 5Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 12372, Saudi Arabia; 6Clinical Laboratory Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 12372, Saudi Arabia; 7Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; 8Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Ha’il, Hail, 81451, Saudi Arabia; 10Laboratory of Genetics, Biodiversity and Valorization of Bio-Resources, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, University of Monastir, Monastir, 5000, TunisiaCorrespondence: Abdulrahman S Bazaid; Husam Qanash, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Ha’il, Hail, 55476, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966 16 5358200 ext. 1713, Email ar.bazaid@uoh.edu.sa; h.qanash@uoh.edu.saIntroduction: Although Sumra and Sidr Saudi honey is widely used in traditional medicine due to its potent activity, it is unknown whether its prolonged usage has impact upon bacterial virulence or leading to reduced antibiotic sensitivity. Thus, the study aims to inves

Esraa Aldawood,1 Deemah Dabbagh,1 Sarah Alharbi,1 Lama Alzamil,1 Layla Faqih,1 Hassan H Alshurafa,2 Rufaidah Dabbagh3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, College of Applied Medical Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Esraa Aldawood, Email ealdawood@ksu.edu.saIntroduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a widespread sexually transmitted infection linked to various types of cancer. Although vaccination against HPV is available, global HPV vaccination rates remain low.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of the HPV vaccine and to identify predictors associated with vaccine hesitancy among health college students at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed during December 2022 to students enrolled in health colleges. The survey link was randomly distributed via social media platforms and in-person interactions. The number of participants was 405 including both males and females. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The correct response rate for all knowledge items was calculated, and they were stratified by gender and college. The association of vaccine hesitancy with sociodemographic characteristics was examined using logistic regression analysis.Results: The study found that approximately half of the students (49.9%) were aware of the HPV vaccine. However, only a small percentage of students answered all to all HPV knowledge items correctly. Additionally, only a small proportion (5.2%) reported receiving the vaccine. The overall HPV vaccine hesitancy was 59.1% (43.9% for female and 75.9% for male). The most common reasons for vaccine hesitancy was not knowing enough about it. Males were two times more likely than females to be

Taghreed A Hafiz,1 Juliana Linnette D’Sa,2 Sahar Zamzam,2 Maria Liza Visbal Dionaldo,3 Esraa Aldawood,1 Nouf Madkhali,4 Murad A Mubaraki1 1Clinical Laboratory Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Maternal and Child Health Nursing Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, College of Nursing, Oklahoma City, OK, USA; 4Virology Department, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Taghreed A Hafiz, Email thafiz@ksu.edu.saIntroduction: Helicobacter pylori infection is widespread and harmful, rendering its eradication a serious public health problem. Undergraduate students’ general understanding of H. pylori infection is relatively poor. This was a second-phase research study to evaluate the efficacy of an educational intervention in raising awareness among university students.Methods: A quasi-experimental approach was employed, with 108 undergraduate students at King Saud University as participants. First, during the October 2021 academic year, data were gathered using a validated survey. The survey was divided into sociodemographic characteristics and H. pylori knowledge. Second, we assessed the effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase university students’ awareness of the topic.Results: Before the intervention, the percentage of students that had good (9.3%), fair (28.7%) and poor (62%) knowledge of H. pylori infection changed to 55.6%, 41.7%, and 2.8% respectively. There was a significant increase in overall and domain-wise mean knowledge score after the educational intervention (p = 0.001). The pretest knowledge was independent of all socio-demographic variables except “whether or not they had heard about H. pylori infection” (χ 2= 8.666, p = 0.013).Conclusion: Educational intervention may help increase students’ awareness of H. pylori infections.Keywords: aware