Identification of potential lockdown areas during COVID-19 transmission in Punjab, Pakistan

Saeed, Umar; Sherdil, Khalid; Ashraf, Uzma; Mohey-ud-din, Ghulam; Younas, Iqra; Butt, Huma; Ahmad, Sajid Rashid

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.10.026

Cited by 27 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The travelers from Spain contributed to the highest number of infected patients. According to our data, the local transmission of the virus was massive in the province of Punjab, which is one of the most populated provinces of Pakistan (38). There is already strong evidence of human-to-human transmission of the disease (39).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study in Pakistan

Ahmad

Beg

Majeed

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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The emergence of a pathogen responsible for a mysterious respiratory disease was identified in China and later called a novel coronavirus. This disease was named COVID-19. The present study seeks to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in Pakistan. This report will exhibit a linkage between epidemiology and clinical aspects which in turn can be helpful to prevent the transmission of the virus in Pakistan. A retrospective, multiple center study was performed by collecting the data from patients' with their demographics, epidemiological status, history of co-morbid conditions, and clinical manifestations of the disease. The data was collected from 31 public-sector and 2 private hospitals across Pakistan by on-field healthcare workers. A Chi-square test was applied to assess the relationship between categorical data entries. A total of 194 medical records were examined. The median age of these patients was found to be 34 years. A total of 53.6% active cases were present including 41.2% males and 12.4% females till the end of the study. Adults accounted for most of the cases (94.3%) of COVID-19. Fever (86.60%), cough (85.05%), fatigue (36.60%), dyspnea (24.74%), and gastrointestinal discomfort (10.31%) were among the most frequently reported signs and symptoms by the patients. However, 4.12% of the total patient population remained asymptomatic. The median duration of hospital stay was found to be 14 (0–19) days. The earliest source of the spread of the virus may be linked to the foreigners traveling to Pakistan. Spread among men was more as compared to women. A few cases were found to be positive, due to the direct contact with pets or livestock. Hypertension (7.73%), diabetes (4.64%), cardiovascular conditions (2.58%) were the most common co-morbidities. The percentage mortality was 2.50% with the highest mortality among elders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study in Pakistan

Ahmad

Beg

Majeed

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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“…Pakistan is experiencing a high number of COVID-19 cases, with the maximum share from Punjab, Pakistan (Saeed et al 2021 ). The numbers of affected population (male and female) per million due to the COVID-19 have been determined in 36 districts of the province including Islamabad (Fig.…”

Section: Geo-spatial Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factor of COVID-19 and Impacts of Meteorological and Social Variables on Its Propagation in Punjab, Pakistan

Saddique

Adnan²,

Bokhari

et al. 2021

Earth Syst Environ

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The current study identifies the spatial distribution of COVID-19 cases and its association with meteorological and social variables in Punjab (densely populated province of Pakistan). To identify the COVID-19 propagation, the weekly growth, recovery, and deaths rate have also been calculated. The geographic information system (GIS) has used to determine COVID-19 impacts on gender (male/female), age groups, and causalities over an affected population (km −2 ) for the period of 11th March to 12th August, 2020 in each district of province. Our results show that 43 peak days (where daily positive cases were above 900) have been observed in Punjab during 27th May to 8th July, 2020. The high population density districts, i.e., Lahore and Islamabad, have been affected (five persons per square kilometers) due to COVID-19, whereas the maximum death tolls (> 50 persons per millions) have also been observed in these urban districts. The meteorological variables (temperature, humidity, heat index, and ultraviolet index) show negative significant relationship to basic reproduction number (R0), whereas daily COVID-19 cases are positively correlated to aerosols concentration at 95% confidence level. The government intervention (stringency index) shows a positive impact to reduce the COVID-19 cases over the province. Keeping in view the COVID-19 behavior and climatology of the region, it has been identified that the COVID-19 cases may likely to increase during the dry period (high concentration of aerosols) i.e., October–December, 2020 and post-spring season (April to June), 2021 in urban areas of Pakistan. This study provides an overview on districts vulnerability that would help the policy makers, health agencies to plan their activities to reduce the COVID-19 impacts.

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“…With the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world, prompt diagnostic tools, readily available repurposable drugs, and effective containment measures to control SARS-CoV-2 infection are of paramount importance. The pandemic has also exposed inadequate research and health infrastructures globally, especially in countries such as Pakistan, where basic health care necessities were scarce when the infection reached its peak in June 2020 [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Overview of the Treatment Options Used for the Management of COVID-19 in Pakistan: Retrospective Observational Study

Akhtar¹,

Akhtar²,

Rahman³

et al. 2021

JMIR Public Health Surveill

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Background Since the first reports of COVID-19 infection, the foremost requirement has been to identify a treatment regimen that not only fights the causative agent but also controls the associated complications of the infection. Due to the time-consuming process of drug discovery, physicians have used readily available drugs and therapies for treatment of infections to minimize the death toll. Objective The aim of this study is to provide a snapshot analysis of the major drugs used in a cohort of 1562 Pakistani patients during the period from May to July 2020, when the first wave of COVID-19 peaked in Pakistan. Methods A retrospective observational study was performed to provide an overview of the major drugs used in a cohort of 1562 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the four major tertiary-care hospitals in the Rawalpindi-Islamabad region of Pakistan during the peak of the first wave of COVID-19 in the country (May-July 2020). Results Antibiotics were the most common choice out of all the therapies employed, and they were used as first line of treatment for COVID-19. Azithromycin was the most prescribed drug for treatment. No monthly trend was observed in the choice of antibiotics, and these drugs appeared to be a random but favored choice throughout the months of the study. It was also noted that even antibiotics used for multidrug resistant infections were prescribed irrespective of the severity or progression of the infection. The results of the analysis are alarming, as this approach may lead to antibiotic resistance and complications in immunocompromised patients with COVID-19. A total of 1562 patients (1064 male, 68.1%, and 498 female, 31.9%) with a mean age of 47.35 years (SD 17.03) were included in the study. The highest frequency of patient hospitalizations occurred in June (846/1562, 54.2%). Conclusions Guidelines for a targeted treatment regime are needed to control related complications and to limit the misuse of antibiotics in the management of COVID-19.

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Identification of potential lockdown areas during COVID-19 transmission in Punjab, Pakistan

Cited by 27 publications

References 20 publications

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study in Pakistan

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of COVID-19: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study in Pakistan

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factor of COVID-19 and Impacts of Meteorological and Social Variables on Its Propagation in Punjab, Pakistan

An Overview of the Treatment Options Used for the Management of COVID-19 in Pakistan: Retrospective Observational Study

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