HPV infection and vaccination: a cross-sectional study of knowledge, perception, and attitude to vaccine uptake among university students in Qatar.

BACKGROUND: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is a significant public health concern in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, being widely prevalent and the main risk factor for cervical cancer. We aimed to assess knowledge and perception towards HPV, acceptability of the HPV vaccine, and HPV vaccination rates among university students in Education City, Doha, Qatar. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey utilized proportional quota-sampling, with quotas based on university, sex, and nationality, to recruit students from seven universities between February and September 2022. The English language questionnaire requested socio-demographic information, knowledge, and attitudes about HPV infection and the vaccine. The chi-square test, Student t-test, Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests and multivariable ordinal logistic regression were used to assess differences in proportion, mean, and median according to broad HPV knowledge categories. RESULTS: Three hundred and ninety-eight students were recruited (response rate = 82.3%), of whom 251 (63.1%) were female. Mean age was 21.7 years. Eighty-nine (22.4%, 95% CI 18.4-26.8%) students had poor knowledge about HPV, 220 (55.3%, 95% CI 50.2-60.2%) students had some awareness, and 89 (22.4%, 95% CI 18.4-26.8%) students were knowledgeable. Age, nationality, and field of study influenced the students' knowledge about HPV. Only 25 (6.3%) students had previously been vaccinated against HPV. However, 71% of the unvaccinated students reported being willing to get vaccinated if recommended by their healthcare provider. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, 77.7% of the student population had some-to-good levels of knowledge about HPV-related infection, cancer, and vaccination. There are gaps in the student population's understanding and knowledge about HPV. Increasing knowledge can be key toward shared decision-making for HPV vaccination among eligible populations. Targeted public health campaigns and integration into childhood vaccination programs should be critical first steps, especially as most of the surveyed students had a positive outlook on getting vaccinated. Healthcare professionals should be incentivized to increase their HPV knowledge and communication skills, while policymakers can work toward easing barriers in integrating HPV vaccinations in the immunization schedule and encouraging overall HPV vaccination uptake.

The effect of microbiome therapy on COVID-19-induced gut dysbiosis: A narrative and systematic review.

AIMS: Emerging evidence highlights the role of COVID-19 in instigating gut dysbiosis, with repercussions on disease severity and bidirectional gut-organ communication involving the lung, heart, brain, and liver. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in addressing gut dysbiosis associated with COVID-19, as well as their impact on related disease severity and clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically review 27 studies exploring the efficacy of different microbiome-modulating therapies: probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation as potential interventions for COVID-19. KEY FINDINGS: The probiotics and synbiotics investigated encompassed a spectrum of eight bacterial and fungal genera, namely Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, Pediococcus, Bacillus, Saccharomyces, and Kluyveromyces. Noteworthy prebiotics employed in these studies included chestnut tannin, galactooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharide, and resistant dextrin. The majority of the investigated biotics exhibited positive effects on COVID-19 patients, manifesting in symptom alleviation, inflammation reduction, and notable decreases in mortality rates. Five studies reported death rates, showing an average mortality ranging from 0 % to 11 % in the intervention groups, as compared to 3 % to 30 % in the control groups. Specifically, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics demonstrated efficacy in diminishing the duration and severity of symptoms while significantly accelerating viral and symptomatic remission. FMT emerged as a particularly effective strategy, successfully restoring gut microbiota and ameliorating gastrointestinal disorders. SIGNIFICANCE: The insights gleaned from this review significantly contribute to our broader comprehension of the therapeutic potential of biotics in addressing COVID-19-related gut dysbiosis and mitigating secondary multi-organ complications.