The online-only Data Supplement is available with this article at http://stroke.ahajournals.org/lookup/suppl/

The World Health Organization Global Vaccine Action Plan aims to accelerate the control of preventable diseases, including seasonal influenza; however, seasonal influenza vaccination reluctance persists. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of Saudi nationals regarding seasonal influenza vaccinations. An anonymous questionnaire was targeted to Saudi nationals for self-enrolment in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive and chi-squared analyses. This study included 1298 Saudi nationals (745 males and 553 females) who were ≥19 years old. A total of 44.53% of the participants had been vaccinated with the seasonal influenza vaccine. In total, 26.96% of the participants were certain that there were no contradictions between the influenza vaccine and other childhood vaccines and 36.67% knew that individuals with chronic diseases should be given the seasonal influenza vaccine. By contrast, only 123 of the participants (9.48%) understood that pregnant women could be vaccinated with the influenza vaccine. Vaccinated participants in our study showed a higher level of knowledge compared to non-vaccinated participants. Most of the participants reported that the most reliable source of information was healthcare worker advice. The current study provides important information regarding misperceptions in public attitudes towards seasonal influenza vaccinations; these data can be used to plan strategies to address existing gaps in healthcare.

The data obtained in this study support the widespread testing of all close contacts of MERS-CoV cases, regardless of the significance of the contact or presence or absence of symptoms. In addition, urgent careful review of guidance regarding the return of asymptomatic MERS-CoV-positive HCWs under investigation to active duty is needed.

Although emergency medical services (EMS) and pre-hospital care have existed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) since 1934, emergency medicine (EM) is a relatively new medical field in the country that was not formally recognized as a medical specialty until 2001. In 2005, the Saudi Board of Emergency Medicine formed to develop, implement, and evaluate a standardized curriculum for EM residents. Since then, EM and the pre-hospital system in the KSA has evolved and grown. This article provides an overview of emergency medicine in Saudi Arabia and the progress it has made in the pre-hospital system, healthcare delivery system, and emergency medicine training. Finally, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities faced as this specialty continues to develop.

This hospital outbreak demonstrated the difficulties in diagnosing pneumonia in patients with renal and cardiac failure, which leads to delayed suspicion of MERS-CoV and hence delay in applying the proper infection control procedures. In MERS-CoV endemic countries there is an urgent need for developing rapid point-of-care testing that would assist emergency department staff in triaging suspected cases of MERS-CoV to ensure timely isolation and management of their primary illness and prevent major MERS-CoV outbreaks.