In Pakistan, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is expected to greatly increase the already high mortality and morbidity rates attributed to infections, making AMR surveillance and prevention a priority in the country. The aims of the project were to characterize the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in healthcare facility sink drains in Pakistan and to characterize how physical characteristics of sinks and healthcare facility rooms were associated with CRE in those sinks. The study took place in 40 healthcare facilities in Jamshoro Pakistan. Swabs were collected from sink drains in each facility that had a sink, and structured observations of sinks and facilities were performed at each facility. Swabs were plated on CHROMagar KPC to screen for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, which were then isolated on Mueller-Hinton agar plates. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined using the disk diffusion method to assess resistance to carbapenems, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones. Thirty-seven of the healthcare facilities had at least one sink, and thirty-nine total sinks were present and sampled from those healthcare facilities. Sinks in these facilities varied in quality; at the time of sampling 68% had water available, 51% had soap/alcohol cleanser at the sink, 28% appeared clean, and 64% drained completely. Twenty-five (64%) of the sink samples grew Enterobacteriaceae on CHROMagar KPC, sixteen (41%) of which were clinically non-susceptible to ertapenem. Seven of the 39 sampled sinks (18%) produced Enterobacteriaceae that were resistant to all three antibiotic classes tested. Several facilities and sink characteristics were associated with CRE. Sinks and drains can serve as undetected reservoirs for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Control and remediation of such environments will require both systemic strategies and physical improvements to clinical environments.

ObjectiveTo gather preliminary insights through formative research on social media usage, and experiences, attitudes and perceptions around COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination in three high-risk, underserved districts in Karachi, Pakistan.DesignCross-sectional mixed-method design.Participants392 adults (361 surveys and 30 in-depth interviews (IDI)) from districts South, East and Korangi in Karachi, Pakistan.Main outcome measuresSocial media usage and knowledge, perception and behaviour towards COVID-19 infection and vaccination.ResultsUsing social media was associated with an increased probability of getting vaccinated by 1.61 units. Most of the respondents (65%) reported using social media, mainly to watch videos and/or keep in touch with family/friends. 84.76% knew of COVID-19 while 88.37% knew about the COVID-19 vaccination, with 71.19% reported vaccine receipt; reasons to vaccinate included belief that vaccines protect from the virus, and vaccination being mandatory for work. However, only 56.7% of respondents believed they were at risk of disease. Of the 54 unvaccinated individuals, 27.78% did not vaccinate as they did not believe in COVID-19. Despite this, 78.38% of respondents scored high on vaccine confidence. In IDIs, most respondents knew about COVID-19 vaccines: ‘This vaccine will create immunity in your body. Therefore, I think we should get vaccinated’, and over half knew how COVID-19 spreads. Most considered COVID-19 a serious public health problem and thought it important that people get vaccinated. However, there was a low-risk perception of self as only a little over half felt that they were at risk of contracting COVID-19.ConclusionWith our conflicting results regarding COVID-19 vaccine confidence, that is, high vaccine coverage but low perception of risk to self, it is likely that vaccine coverage is more a result of mandates and coercion than true vaccine confidence. Our findings imply that interactive social media could be valuable in fostering provaccine sentiment.

No abstract

Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology Vol. 40, No. 2, 383 - 391, April 2021 p-ISSN: 0254-7821, e-ISSN: 2413-7219 DOI: 10.22581/muet1982.2102.12 This is an open access article published by Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro under CC BY 4.0 International License. 383 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Resources Available at Higher Education Institutes of Sindh and Students’ Satisfaction Ubed Ur Rehman1a, Jamil Ahmed1b, Rasool Bux Maher1c, Aneela Yasmeen2RECEIVED ON 13.02.2019, ACCEPTED ON 03.05.2019 ABSTRACT The present study was focused on the available Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and students’ satisfaction in three public and two private Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) of Hyderabad and Jamshoro city. This cross-sectional study recorded WASH facilities in 21 departments of 5-HEIs and satisfaction appraisal of 630 students in total. The survey was also supplemented with quality analysis of Point of Use (PoU) drinking water. The results revealed that the overall 85.7 and 47.6% contamination of the drinking water samples were recorded due to total and thermo-tolerant coliforms, respectively. Further, physiochemical parameters were found in the permissible limits as provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and arsenic was not detected in any of the water samples. In total 25% of the toilet facilities were found non-functional. All monitored HEIs were found having sufficient quantity of water however, 95% hand-washing stations did not supply soap/ detergent for hand-washing. Moreover, this study divulges that there is a significant relationship between WASH facilities like water quality (χ2= 7.55*; p=0.023), toilets functioning (χ2= 45.39**; p=0.002), and washing facilities (χ2= 37.29**; p=0.000) in HEIs and student’s satisfaction in HEIs. Thus, it can be concluded that the poor WASH facilities in HEIs could affect the students’ satisfaction leading to affect their performance in the studies, negatively.