Knowledge, awareness and practices of Pakistani professionals amid-COVID-19 outbreak.

End of the year 2019 marks an unprecedented outbreak of a pandemic named COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2. It was first discovered in China and later spread to the whole world, currently inflicting almost 200 countries. After China, few other countries have emerged as potential epicenters of this disease including the US, Italy, Spain and Pakistan, as indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since proper preventive and curative measures in the form of a vaccine or medication are currently unavailable throughout the world, the only remedy devised to stop the spread of this virus is self-isolation. Such a measure necessitates ample awareness and understanding among people to avoid actions that lead to the spread of this virus. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country in the world (212.2 million) and has a record of contagious outbreaks in the past. Therefore, it is key to evaluate the general understanding regarding the cause, spread and control of this disease in Pakistani population and acquire data to anticipate the possible spread and persistence of this disease to design relevant preventive measures. We have attempted to collect such data from professionals who are susceptible to acquiring the infection due to an unavoidable exposure. Keeping in view the current lock down, we have relied on an internet based collection of data by filling a self-designed questionnaire that is responded to by 1132. Descriptive and Frequency Analysis were performed on the responses received using MS Excel and SPSS software. A total of 1132 individuals responded to the questionnaire among which include academic (45.8%), non-academic (20.8%), healthcare (7.8%), security (5.9%) and other (19.7%) professionals. The questionnaire addressed the level of basic information regarding the cause, spread, cure and prevention of this disease among professionals, in an attempt to provide directions for awareness campaigns at different levels in Pakistan and provide a model for similar outbreaks in the future.To our expectations, almost after a month of the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan, above 50% to up to 90% of the recorded responses against every question showed ample understanding regarding the cause, spread and control of the disease which is an indicator of effective public awareness campaigns throughout the country largely based on media drive.

Assessment of general awareness among Pakistani students regarding COVID-19 outbreak.

At the end of 2019, a novel infectious agent known as severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated from Hubei, China; from where it spread to other regions of the globe. In March 2020, World health organization (WHO) expressed fears that Pakistan might emerge as the next epicenter of corona virus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since proper preventive and curative measures are currently unavailable, only remedy is self-isolation which necessitates ample awareness among people. In this regard, Pakistan faces a unique challenge as it is a populous country with a record of contagious outbreaks in the past. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the general understanding regarding the cause, spread, control and psychological consequences of this pandemic in Pakistani population, especially in the youth that represents over 60% of the population. In this study, we have collected and analyzed responses related to awareness and attitude of students through a self-designed questionnaire. In total 1822 responses were collected and subjected to descriptive and frequency analysis. Outcomes of the survey suggest that majority of the respondents are well aware of the disease outbreak, complications and its mode of transmission. It is also evident from the obtained responses that youth of the country is willing to opt the precautionary measures and avoid mass gatherings.

Human BK and JC polyomaviruses: Molecular insights and prevalence in Asia.

Polyomaviridae family consists of small circular dsDNA viruses. Out of the 14 human polyomaviruses described so far, BKPyV and JCPyV have been studied extensively since their discovery in 1971. Reportedly, both BKPyV and JCPyV are widely distributed across the globe with the frequency of 80-90 % in different populations. The primary infection of these viruses is usually asymptomatic and latent which is activated as a consequence of immunosuppression. Activated BKPyV and JCPyV viruses lead to the development of BK Virus Associated Nephropathy and Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy, respectively. Immense progress has been made during the last few decades regarding the molecular understanding of polyomaviruses. Epidemiology of polyomaviruses has also been studied extensively. However, most of the epidemiological studies have focused on European and American populations. Therefore, limited data is available regarding the geographical distribution of these potentially oncogenic viruses in Asian countries. In this article, we have presented a compendium of latest advances in the molecular understanding of polyomaviruses and their pathobiology. We also present a comprehensive review of published literature regarding the epidemiology and prevalence of BKPyV and JCPyV in Asian regions. For this purpose, a thorough search of available online resources was performed. As a result, we retrieved 24 studies for BKPyV and 22 studies for JCPyV, that describe their prevalence in Asia. These studies unanimously report high occurrence of both BKPyV and JCPyV in Asian populations. The available data from these studies was categorized into two groups: on the basis of prevalence (low, medium and high) and disease development (healthy and diseased). Altogether, Korean population hasbeen evidenced to possess highest frequency of BKPyV (66.7 %), while JCPyV was found to be most prevalent in Taiwan (88 %). Due to high and ubiquitous distribution of these viruses, frequent studies are required to develop a better understanding regarding the epidemiology and pathobiology of these viruses in Asia.