Methods: The clinical records of all neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 who were admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor, Malaysia from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. Data collected included demographic details and the incidence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of neonates with SARS-CoV-2 positivity.
Results: A total of 766 neonates from 753 mothers with COVID-19 were included. Overall, 23 (3%) neonates tested positive by nasopharyngeal swab SARS-CoV-2 PCR taken within the first 8 days of life. There were three (0.4%) confirmed and four (0.5%) probable neonatal infections acquired intrapartum, seven (0.9%) confirmed neonatal infections acquired postpartum, and nine (1.2%) cases that did not fit within the classification. The rate of preterm delivery was 25% among all neonates born to mothers with COVID-19 and 39.1% among SARS-CoV-2-positive neonates. Of the SARS-CoV-2-positive neonates, 43.5% required ventilatory support. Factors identified to have a significant association with neonate SARS-CoV-2 positivity included maternal antepartum hemorrhage (odds ratio (OR) 7.33, P = 0.014), place of delivery in a non-designated COVID-19 center (OR 7.64, P < 0.001), exposure to the mother post-delivery (OR 4.13, P = 0.014), and a higher 5-minute Apgar score (score 6-10; OR 0.20, P = 0.0037).
Conclusions: This study identified a risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from mothers with COVID-19 to their offspring, with infection acquired predominantly postpartum. A higher incidence of preterm delivery and ventilatory support were observed among SARS-CoV-2-positive neonates.
METHODS: A retrospective approach was used to construct notional epidemic trajectories for eight Asia-Pacific countries or regions, from June to November 2021, under hypothetical scenarios of earlier resumption of international travel and selective border reopening. The numbers of local infections and deaths over the prediction window were calculated accordingly.
RESULTS: Had quarantine-free entry been permitted for all travellers from all the regions investigated, and travel volumes recovered to the 2019 levels, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore would have been the three most severely affected regions, with at least doubled number of deaths, while infections would have increased marginally (< 5%) for Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.
CONCLUSIONS: Earlier resumption of travel in Asia-Pacific, while maintaining a controlled degree of importation risk, could have been implemented through selective border-reopening strategies and on-arrival testing. Once countries had experienced large, localized COVID-19 outbreaks, earlier relaxation of border containment measures would not have resulted in a great increase in morbidity and mortality.
METHODS: In total, 153 patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who had been admitted to the regional referral hospital or who self-isolated at home were included in this study. Nasopharyngeal swab specimens and saliva samples were collected on the same day, and were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of saliva samples were 81.5% and 76.4%, respectively, in cases that had been confirmed as COVID-19 using nasopharyngeal swab samples. Positive predictive values and negative predictive values were 92.3% and 54.1%, respectively. The highest detection rates were found among samples collected 4-7 days since symptom onset.
CONCLUSION: Saliva samples showed comparable performance to nasopharyngeal swab specimens for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in adults. The performance of saliva as a diagnostic specimen for COVID-19 testing is particularly significant during the first week of symptoms.
METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis on the B. pseudomallei reposited data submitted to the NSAR network between January 2014 and December 2020. The data were screened for information on patient demographics and specimen types. Additional patient comorbidities and outcomes were drawn from parallel surveillance for bacteremic melioidosis.
RESULTS: The average annual incidence rate of melioidosis between 2014-2020 was 3.41 per 100,000 population and was significantly different between states (P <0.001). The highest incidence was observed in Pahang at 11.33 per 100,000 population. Individuals of Malay ethnicity, from the states of Pahang, Johor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan aged 40-49, who were diabetic and working in agriculture-related sectors had a higher risk of succumbing to the infection.
CONCLUSION: Assessing the NSAR data proved to be a useful tool for the determination of the incidence and socio-demographic risk factors attributed to melioidosis in Malaysia.