Objective Evidence from previous studies suggests that calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is not an unavoidable consequence of aging, and may be linked to explicit risk factors. However, little is known regarding the Afghan population in this context. The current study aimed to identify the clinical features of CAVD and determine independent risk factors for CAVD in the Afghan population. Patients and Methods A case-control study was conducted among 1072 Afghan participants (age >18 years) from January 2018 to December 2020. The study participants were divided into two groups based on echocardiographic findings: 536 individuals with CAVD and 536 age- and sex-matched controls. Data were collected using questionnaires from the medical records of all cases and controls. The independent predictors of CAVD were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results The mean age of study participants was 65.3 ± 13.5 years (range, 20–100 years). Of the 536 patients with CAVD, 77 (14.4%) had aortic valve stenosis, 415 (77.4%) had aortic valve calcification, and 44 (8.2%) had bicuspid aortic valve. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that sedentary lifestyle (odds ratio [OR] = 2.517, p = 003), diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR = 1.902, p = 006), high body mass index (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ) (OR = 1.776, p = 005), good socioeconomic status (OR = 1.724, p = 021), and hypertension (OR = 1.664, p ˂0.001) were independent risk factors for CAVD in the Afghan population. Conclusion It was observed that sedentary lifestyle, diabetes mellitus, high BMI (≥ 30 kg/m 2 ), good socioeconomic status, and hypertension are independent risk factors for the development of CAVD compared to those with a normal aortic valve in the Afghan population.

The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, emerged from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and has recently spread all over the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers struggle against this microscopic enemy due to their job responsibilities, thus leading to be infected in some of them, even some of them are died in line of duty. As of 2 February 2021, 37 million cases of COVID-19 among health workers from 183 countries and regions were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), a figure that represents 36% of the total cases globally. The median age of these cases was 42 years and 68% were women. On May 24, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that at least 115,000 healthcare workers have died due to COVID-19 worldwide since the pandemic began last year.  It is important to pay attention to the situation related to COVID-19 infection for medical staff and their preventive measures. This paper reviews the literature on all available information about the situation and preventive measures (The primary prevention of COVID-19 is to break the chain of transmission from infected to healthy people, secondary preventive measures comprise the use of health screening and recognition activities to ascertain those infected with COVID-19 and tertiary prevention consists of treatment and proper rehabilitation) related to COVID-19 infection for medical staff.