A wide range of antimicrobial agents were touted as potential remedies during the COVID-19 pandemic. While both developed and developing countries have recorded an increase in the use of antimicrobial drugs, use and misuse have occurred to a far greater degree in developing countries. This can have deleterious consequences on antimicrobial resistance, especially when various developing countries have already reported the emergence of various drug-resistant organisms even before the pandemic. Telemedicine services, societal and cultural pressures, and bacterial co-infections can predispose to overwhelming antimicrobial prescriptions. The emergence of new multidrug resistance species is a major concern for the developing world especially since health services are already overburdened and lack the diagnostic capabilities and basic amenities for infection prevention and control. This can lead to outbreaks and the rampant spread of such microorganisms. Improper waste management and disposal from hospitals and communities establish freshwater runoffs as hubs of various microorganisms that can predispose to the rise of multidrug-resistant species. Microplastics' ability to act as vectors for antibioticresistant organisms is also particularly concerning for lower-middle-income countries. In this review, we aim to study the impact of antimicrobial use during the COVID-19 pandemic and antimicrobial resistance in lower middle-income countries, by understanding various determinants of resistance unique to the developing world and exploring solutions to combat the problem.

Obesity has been defined as the excessive deposition of fats on the body. It presents a very significant risk to humanity, with debilitating consequences for healthcare systems worldwide. It has multiple effects on the body, including grave consequences on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Our project explores the latter. There are multiple studies available in the scientific literature that attempt to explain this phenomenon, all with limited success and conflicting results. This cross-sectional exploration of the topic was done on medical undergraduates to pick up on any correlations between peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and the markers of obesity (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and waist to hip ratio (WHR)). In general, we found that male participants had sizably higher PEFR values than females (r=0.540, p<0.01). Appropriate BMI is mandatory for the physiologic functioning of the human body. This work also statistically demonstrates a negative overall correlation between lung health and various parameters of obesity. Our work suggests a positive correlation between WHR and PEFR (r=0.325, p<0.01), BMI and PEFR (r=0.573, p=0.02), along with weight and PEFR (r=0.464, p<0.01). Maintaining a BMI and WHR in the normal range is essential for optimal physiological functioning and physical well-being.

Amidst a time when there is the global pandemic of COVID-19 and high levels of stress and anxiety among people, it was pertinent to study if people have modified their health-seeking behavior. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was performed in Lahore to assess the change in behaviors of people before and during the pandemic. The results show that the health seeking behavior of the people has changed during the pandemic, resulting in an increased trend of self-medication and a decreased number of people visiting the hospital for their ailments. People preferred private health providers over the government facilities. This might be due to the misinformation, panic, and uncertainties spread by the social media. Governmental health care providers should consider these aspects while addressing the polices related to the pandemic.

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). COVID-19 has yielded many reported complications and unusual observations. In this article, we have reviewed one such observation: an association between malaria endemicity and reduced reported COVID-19 fatality. Malaria-endemic regions have a significantly lower reported COVID-19 fatality rate as compared to regions where malaria is non-endemic. Statistical analyses show that there is a strong negative correlation between the reported SARS-CoV-2 fatality and endemicity of malaria. In this review, we have discussed the potential role of CD-147, and potential malaria-induced immunity and polymorphisms in COVID-19 patients. Noteworthy, the results may also be due to underreported cases or due to the economic, political, and environmental differences between the malaria endemic and non-endemic countries. The study of this potential relationship might be of great help in COVID-19 therapy and prevention.

The global struggle against the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) on physical and mental health and on economic and social aspects of human life continues even after two and a half years have passed since the emergence of this virus. The development of vaccines was a milestone. By June 2022, billions of people have been vaccinated against the deadly virus. However, like any other vaccine, the various vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) also cause a variety of adverse effects. Therefore this study aimed to determine the different acute side effects experienced after receiving the vaccines and correlating them with some socio-demographic and biomedical factors. MethodologyThis cross-sectional study has a sample size of 467. Study participants were recruited after fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. After gaining approval from the Ethical Review Board (ERB) of CMH Lahore Medical College and Institute of Dentistry, Lahore, Pakistan, an online questionnaire was distributed via social media. The survey questionnaire had a series of questions regarding the socio-demographic and biomedical characteristics of the participants, as well as the type of vaccine they got, followed by questions about the development of adverse effects after each dose (first and second). Data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0 (Released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). The analysis was carried out in a confidence range of 95%, and a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. ResultsSinopharm (76.0%) was the most frequently received vaccine. Adverse events were reported more after the first dose (79.7%) than in the second (67.2%) (p value 0.001). The reported adverse events after either dose were of mild intensity (p<0.05). None of the individuals reported serious adverse events or hospitalization after getting the shots. Females, younger age groups, and individuals with BMI in the underweight category were more prone to developing symptoms and experiencing difficulty doing routine work after getting the doses. The associations were statistically significant (p<0.05). Blood group (A,B,0,AB), past COVID-19 history, and smoking status were not positively associated with the appearance of symptoms after either dose or with inconvenience doing daily work post-vaccination. ConclusionThe vaccines developed against COVID-19 offer benefits that outweigh the few mild adverse effects experienced. None of these symptoms is severe enough to stop an individual from doing routine work or result in morbidity or mortality. Therefore, people should avoid any hesitancy towards getting vaccinated to get past this pandemic.