Poisoning is a common and severe problem worldwide. Due to significant growth in the agricultural, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries over the past few decades, poisoning risks have increased with the use of food, chemicals, and medicines everywhere in the world, especially in Saudi Arabia. Advanced information on acute poisoning patterns is critical for the effective management of poisoning events. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of patients with various patterns of acute poisoning, caused by food, drugs, and chemicals, that were reported to the Department of Toxicology and Poison Center at King Fahad Hospital and the Poison Center in Al-Baha Province, Saudi Arabia. The study also examined the relationship between demographic characteristics, including age, toxin type, and geographical distribution, and poisonings in Baha Province. This retrospective cross-sectional analysis included 622 poisoning cases. The data were collected from 2019 to 2022 and it was found that out of 622 instances, 159 had food poisoning, with more men than females sick (53.5% male and 46.5% female), 377 had drug poisoning (54.1% males and 45.9% females), and 86 had chemical poisoning (74.4% males and 25.6% females). This study found that the most prevalent agents implicated in acute poisoning were medicines, particularly analgesics and antipsychotic drugs. Food poisoning was the second most common acute poisoning, affecting largely males followed by female patients. Finally, chemical poisoning involved acute poisoning, with most cases involving methanol and household items including the strongest bleaches (chlorines) (Clorox^®, Oakland, CA, USA). Insecticides and pesticides were also secondary sources of chemical poisoning. Additional research revealed that the incidence of food, chemical, and drug poisoning was highest in children aged 1–15 years (food poisoning, n = 105, 66%; drug poisoning, n = 120, 31.8%); patients aged 11–20 years had the highest incidence of chemical poisoning (n = 41, 47.7%). Most poisoning incidents among youngsters are caused by easy access to drugs at home. Implementing strategies to enhance public awareness and limit children’s access to drugs would contribute considerably to decreasing the community’s burden of this problem. The findings of this study suggest that Al-Baha should improve its education regarding the rational and safe use of drugs and chemicals.

Purpose: Omicron (B.1.1.529) is one of the highly mutated variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2. Lineages of Omicron bear a remarkable degree of mutations leading to enhanced pathogenicity and upward transmission trajectory. Mutating Omicron lineages may trigger a fresh COVID-19 wave at any time in any region. We aimed at the whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 to determine variants/subvariants and significant mutations which can foster virus evolution, monitoring of disease spread, and outbreak management. Methods: We used Illumina-NovaSeq 6000 for SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing, MEGA 10.2 and nextstrain tools for phylogeny; CD-HIT program (version 4.8.1) and MUSCLE program for clustering and alignment. At the same time, UCSF Chimera was employed for protein visualization. Results: Predominant Omicron pango lineages in Al-Baha were BA.5.2/B22 (n=4, 57%), and other lineages were BA.2.12/21L (n=1, 14.28%), BV.1/22B (n=1, 14.28%) and BA.5.2.18/22B (n=1, 14.28%). 22B nextstrain clade was predominant, while only one lineage showed 21L. BA.5.2/22B, BA.5.2/22B harbored a maximum of n=24 mutations in the spike region. Twelve crucial RBD mutations: D405N, R408S, K417N, N440K, L452R, S477N, T478K, E484A, F486V, Q498R, N501Y, and Y505H were identified except the lineage BA.5.2/22B in which F486V mutation was not observed. Critical deletions S106 in membrane protein NSP6, E31in nucleocapsid, and L24 in spike region were observed in all the lineages. Furthermore, we identified common mutations of Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 in therapeutic hot spot spike region: T19I, D405N, R408S, K417N, N440K, L452R, S477N, T478K, E484A, F486V, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H, D614G, A653V, H655Y, N679K, P681H, N764K, D796Y, Q954H, N969K, D1146D, L452R, F486V, N679K and D796Y. The effect of RBD-targeted mutations on neutralizing (NAbs) binding was considerable. Conclusion: The outcome of this first report on SARS-CoV-2 variants identification and mutation in the Al-Baha region could be used to lay down the policies to manage and impede the regional outbreak of COVID-19 effectively.

Introduction: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a significant pathogen in healthcare settings, particularly in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Its antimicrobial resistance poses a serious threat to infection control and patient outcomes. This study aims to analyze the developing antimicrobial resistance profile of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in the ICU. Methods: A big hospital in Qunfudah provided 137 cases of infected individuals for this retrospective analysis. It was conducted on the available data on ICU patients’ records. Various types of specimens were used. The data collected includes patients’ demographic data, laboratory investigation, and tests for antimicrobial susceptibility. The isolates were identified and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests using the compact system identification method. Data input and analysis were done using SPSS, version 26. Results: The outcomes of this study reflected that more than half of K. pneumoniae were isolated from males (62.4%), many of them are Patients aged 76– 95 years (n;43) were the most infected, followed by individuals aged 56– 75 years (n; 27), 36– 55 years (n;14), 96– 105 years (n;7), and 16– 35 years (n;2). The high frequency of specimens, sputum, urine, blood, and endotracheal tube (37.2%, 19%,18.2%,16.1%), respectively. Sputum had the highest culture positivity (n 51; 37.2%) for pathogens, followed by urine (n 26;19%), blood (n 25;18.2%), endotracheal tube (n 22; 16.1%), wound swabs (n 8; 5.8%), central line tip (n 3; 2.2%) stool and urethral swab (n 1; 0.7% for each). K. pneumoniae demonstrated high resistance rates (100%) for Cefalotin, Cefoxitin, Ceftriaxone, Cefepime, and Ampicillin, followed by Ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (97.8%), Nitrofurantion (94.6%), Meropenem (91.4%), Amikacin (90.3%) and Gentamicin (87.1%). The lowest resistance rate was Imipenem (30.10%). Conclusion: In conclusion, this study examines the antimicrobial resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the ICU of South Qunfudah Hospital, focusing on specific location data rather than general resistance trends.