Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic disease in humans. It is caused by Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV), a newly described flavivirus first isolated in 1995 in Alkhumra district, south of Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. It is transmitted from infected livestock animals to humans by direct contact with infected animals or by tick bites. In the recent past, the incidence of AHF has increased, with a total of 604 confirmed cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia between 1995 and 2020. Yet, no specific treatment or control strategies have been developed and implemented against this infection. Hence, the likelihood of increased prevalence or the occurrence of outbreaks is high, particularly in the absence of appropriate prevention and control strategies. This narrative review presents an overview of the current knowledge and future concerns about AHF globally.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of the COVID-19 that has been declared a global pandemic by the WHO in 2020. The COVID-19 treatment guidelines vary in each country, and yet there is no approved therapeutic for COVID-19. Aims of the study: this review aimed to report any evidence of therapeutics used for the management of COVID-19 patients in clinical practice since the emergence of the virus. Methods: A systematic review protocol was developed based on PRISMA Statement. Articles for review were selected from electronic databases (Embase, Medline and Google Scholar). Readily accessible peer-reviewed full articles in English published from December 1 ^st , 2019 to March 26 ^th , 2020 were included. The search terms included combinations of: COVID, SARS-COV-2, glucocorticoids, convalescent plasma, antiviral, antibacterial. There were no restrictions on the type of study design eligible for inclusion. Results: As of March 26, 2020, of the initial manuscripts identified (n=449) articles. Forty-one studies were included, of which clinical trials (n=3), (case reports n=7), case series (n=10), retrospective (n=11) and prospective (n=10) observational studies. Thirty-six studies were conducted in China (88%). The most common mentioned and reported medicine in this systematic review was corticosteroids (n=25), followed by Lopinavir (n=21) and oseltamivir (n=16). Conclusions: This is the first systematic review up to date related to the therapeutics used in COVID-19 patients. Only forty-one research articles on COVID-19 and therapeutics were found eligible to be included, most conducted in China, corticosteroid therapy was found to be the most used medicine in these studies.

According to the World Health Organization, the increasing antibiotic resistance of pathogens is one of the most important threats to human health. Prevalence of a carbapenem-resistance gene (KPC), vancomycin-resistance genes (van A/B) and a methicillin-resistance gene (mecA) in hospital and municipal sewages will be potential threat to public health. Vancomycin-resistance genes were detected in the sewage of community tank-II, sewage tank of the tertiary and general hospital. Carbapenem-resistance gene was detected in sewage of community tank-II and sewage from tertiary hospital. Methicillin-resistance gene was detected in sewage of community tank-II, sewage from a fish market sewage tank and sewage from an animal slaughter house sewage tank. The detection of a KPC, van A/B and a mecA in sewages will help further the process to take the appropriate measures to prevent the spread of such bacteria in the environment.

This cross-sectional study aimed to measure the awareness, and attitude towards COVID-19 disease as well as new vaccine acceptance, among health field community (healthcare workers, health fields teaching staff and students) at the University of Jeddah, Jeddah Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was designed in English language and included a set of 44 multiple-choice close-ended questions that covered demographic profile of participants, awareness of symptoms and practice against COVID-19. It also included a set of questions that attempted to investigate the attitudes and perceptions towards the uptake of vaccine. Out of the total 186 who participated in this study, 48.4% were 24 years old or younger and 55.9% were health field students. The results showed that majority of participants were aware of most common symptoms and causes of COVID-19 and had positive attitude toward the protective measures against the disease. Regarding the acceptability of vaccination against COVID-19, around 44% of the total participants showed hesitancy to uptake the vaccine of whom, 68.3% were concerned about the adverse effects of the vaccine. Significant differences were found between gender and current position at university of Jeddah in term of vaccine acceptance with p-values of < 0.001. Despite this high level of awareness, health field community at the university of Jeddah have medium acceptance level of disease vaccine. Thus, health educational programs are important to increase the acceptance level among such societies which will contribute to increase the acceptance level among the whole society.

Mpox (Monkeypox) is a highly contagious viral disease that can be transmitted from animal-to-human or human-to-human through intimate contact, Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), which is an enveloped double-stranded DNA that belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus, Poxviridae family, and subfamily Chordopoxvirinae. Mpox cases were previously only reported in West and Central Africa, however in recent times non-endemic countries including Saudi Arabia (SA) also reported confirmed Mpox cases. The first laboratory-confirmed human Mpox case in SA was reported on 14 July 2022, since then a number of confirmed Mpox cases have been reported by WHO in SA. These confirmed Mpox cases in SA were observed among individuals with a history of visiting European Union countries. SA is not only at risk of importation of Mpox cases owing to travel to such countries, but also there are various other risk factors including geographic proximity to the African continent, trade in exotic animals, and massive inflow of tourists. Therefore, government health authorities of SA should continue to collaborate with various international health organizations including WHO to prevent, manage or monitor potential health risks at most of the entry points in SA including highways, seaports, and airports by ensuring adherence to hygiene protocols, vaccinations, and health screenings. There are a range of diagnostic tests are currently available that can be used in SA to confirm Mpox infections, including real-time PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, serological testing, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat-CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR-Cas)-based systems, whole-genome sequencing, electron microscopy, and virus isolation and culture. There is no approved treatment specifically for Mpox, however multiple approved antiviral agents for smallpox treatment were found to be useful in Mpox treatment and in the management of Mpox outbreaks, such as- trifluridine, brincidofovir, tecovirimat, and cidofovir. The aim of this review is to provide valuable insights regarding virology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, transmissions, clinical presentation, diagnostic tests, prophylactic measures and therapeutic options of Mpox from SA perspective. Moreover, a side-by-side discussion on the global trend and scenarios of Mpox has been provided for comparison and further improvement in measures against Mpox in SA.

Dengue is a viral infection caused by one of four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV), which is responsible for causing potentially life-threatening disease and substantial public health as well as economic burden worldwide. The non-structural and structural proteins of DENV are essential to its viral activity and pathogenesis. Unfortunately, despite numerous efforts, there is still no cure for dengue. Most of the available therapeutic options only provide symptomatic treatment. Since there is a lack of cure and dengue-related substantial economic and public health burden, a safe and effective dengue vaccine is urgently required. Currently, there is only one approved dengue vaccine available that provides suboptimal protection; however, a range of other dengue vaccines are under development to lower the infection burden and decrease dengue morbidities. In addition, numerous dengue therapeutics are also being developed, which have great potential in dengue treatment. These therapeutics mostly act by decreasing viral replication, vascular pathologies, and/or inflammation. This review comprehensively summarizes the latest update on dengue vaccines and therapeutics. Moreover, various other important aspects of DENV, including molecular biology, pathogenesis, and control strategies, have also been discussed.