Epidemiology of Reportable Bacterial Infectious Diseases in Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION: Bacterial infections have a significant impact on human health; they can cause severe morbidity and mortality, particularly in susceptible populations. Epidemiological surveillance is a critical tool for monitoring the population's health and facilitate the prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks. Knowing the burden of bacterial communicable diseases is an initial core step toward public health goals. METHODS: Saudi epidemiology surveillance data were utilized to depict the changing epidemiology of bacterial infectious diseases in Saudi Arabia from 2018 to 2021. The cumulative numbers of cases, demographics, and incidence rates were analyzed and visualized. Parametric tests were used to compare the difference in the mean values between categorical variables. Regression analysis was employed to estimate trends in disease rates over time. Statistical significance was set at p value ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: The results revealed that brucellosis, tuberculosis, and salmonellosis were the most frequently reported bacterial infectious diseases in Saudi Arabia. Males were more significantly affected by brucellosis and tuberculosis infections than females. Salmonellosis infections were more significant among Saudi citizens, while pulmonary tuberculosis was more significant in non-Saudis. Interestingly, there was a decline in the incidence rates of numerous bacterial infectious diseases during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions. Some bacterial infectious diseases were rarely reported in Saudi Arabia, including syphilis and diphtheria. CONCLUSIONS: The future perspective of this research is to enhance disease surveillance reporting by including different variables, such as the source of infection, travel history, hospitalization, and mortality rates. The aim is to improve the sensitivity and specificity of surveillance data and focus on the mortality associated with bacterial pathogens to identify the most significant threats and set a public health priority.

The First Genomic Characterization of the Chikungunya Virus in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya is an arboviral infection caused by the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmitted to humans by mosquitoes of Aedes spp. CHIKV has been confined to African countries and South-East Asia up to 2004, but since then, the pathogen has become more global, and its high morbidity rate has become more visible. Saudi Arabia is not an endemic region of CHIKV, and the virus's origin is not yet fully understood. This study aimed to characterize the genome of CHIKV from samples detected in Jeddah in 2018. METHOD: Twenty-two sets of primers were designed to amplify near-full length genome of CHIKV. RT-PCR was conducted from clinical samples. Two samples were used for studying near complete genome sequence while the remaining samples were used to study the E1 gene. Different bioinformatics tools were utilized. RESULTS: Phylogenetic analysis showed that the CHIKV strains clustered with strains isolated from Kenya during 2017-2018 and belonged to ECSA genotype. E1: L136F, K211E and I317V mutations were identified in our strains. Also, E2: M74I, A76T, and V264A mutations were documented. Additionally, the capsid N79S substitution was also detected. CONCLUSION: The genome of CHIKV was analyzed for the first time in Saudi Arabia to better understand the origin of the CHIKV and its genetic diversity, which showed high similarity with IE-a subclade of CHIKV strains detected in Mombasa (Kenya) indicating its possible origin.

Floristic composition of Jandaf Mountain as biodiversity hotspot area in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Arid environments around the world are characterized by lower plant diversity. However, some specific locations have relatively high species richness and have significant importance in terms of vegetation structure and plant diversity. Jabal Al-Jandaf is located in an arid area within the eastern side of mountainous region in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. It consists of valleys, lower plain and upper plain habitats with unique and diverse vegetation. These habitats range from 1000 m above sea level near the Tarj valley to 1910 m at the summit. In this study, we conducted a first survey of the floristic diversity at Jandaf Mountain. Furthermore, we applied the criteria of the Important Plant Area (IPA) and the High Conservation Value (HCV) approaches to assess whether the plant community at Jandaf Mountain qualifies as a significant conservation area. We found that the study area has great plant diversity with plant composition varying among the different habitats (e.g., valleys, upper and lower elevations) within the study area. We recorded 118 species from 97 genera belonging to 42 families, including endemic (e.g. Aloe pseudorubroviolacea), near-endemic (e.g. Monolluma quadrangular), and endangered species (e.g. Dracaena serrulata, Combretum molle, and Moringa peregrine). The plant diversity at Jandaf Mountain achieves the criteria outlined in the IPA and HCV approaches. Therefore, we conclude that Jandaf Mountain has a unique vegetation structure, and the area qualifies for conservation as a high value area for biodiversity and conservation of global significance.

Various classes of removable partial dentures: A study of prevalence among patients attending a dental and educational institute in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: Knowledge about the most prevalent types of Kennedy classifications is of great value and will enlighten dental students, dental technicians, and practitioners regarding the treatment needs of their patients, ultimately leading to better treatment outcomes. The aim was to determine the prevalence of various Kennedy classifications among patients attending clinics at the College of Dentistry at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and King Abdulaziz Dental Center, National Guard Health Affairs, who were seeking treatment for partial edentulism. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted by visualizing cast models for partially edentulous patients. Kennedy classification, age, gender, and treatment design were recorded from the lab request sheets that were attached to the casts in the labs at both the College of Dentistry at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and King Abdulaziz Dental Center, National Guard Health Affairs. The statistical analyses were performed with SPSS version 20.0 utilizing frequency and Pearson's and Spearman's correlation tests. RESULTS: Kennedy Class I (45.0%) was the most prevalent pattern in both dental arches, followed by Class III (26.2%). Next was Class II (23.3%), while Class IV was the least prevalent (5.4%). CONCLUSION: Kennedy Class I was the most noted classification in our patient population. As age increases, there is an increased tendency toward Class I and II.

Measuring the impact of suspending Umrah, a global mass gathering in Saudi Arabia on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the early days of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, Saudi Arabia started to implement several preventative measures starting with the imposition of travel restrictions to and from China. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, and with the first confirmed case in Saudi Arabia in March 2019, more strict measures, such as international travel restriction, and suspension or cancellation of major events, social gatherings, prayers at mosques, and sports competitions, were employed. These non-pharmaceutical interventions aim to reduce the extent of the epidemic due to the implications of international travel and mass gatherings on the increase in the number of new cases locally and globally. Since this ongoing outbreak is the first of its kind in the modern world, the impact of suspending mass gatherings on the outbreak is unknown and difficult to measure. We use a stratified SEIR epidemic model to evaluate the impact of Umrah, a global Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, on the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during the month of Ramadan, the peak of the Umrah season. The analyses shown in the paper provide insights into the effects of global mass gatherings such as Hajj and Umrah on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic locally and globally.

Natural plant species inventory of hotspot areas in Arabian Peninsula: Southwest Al-Baha region, Saudi Arabia.

Plant hotspot areas are the areas that are very rich in plant species diversity. These areas have a priority for conservation. To highlight the plant diversity for nature conservation purposes a case study in Al Baha region, Saudi Arabia is presented, in which the importance of the natural vegetation and flora of one of the hotspot areas of Saudi Arabia is evaluated through the explanation of its natural plant species. A survey study has been conducted in an area of 167.6 km2, a 97 sample each with 20X20 m were laid out covering the whole ecological zones of the study site. Data of flora, vegetation cover and topography were gathered from each sample site. The study revealed about 319 plant species belonging to 228 genera and 75 families. Two species were found endemic to Saudi Arabia, 14 were endemics to Arabian Peninsula, and five were regional endemics that are only found in East Africa and Arabian Peninsula, while 39 species are rare and endangered.

A remote sensing study of spatiotemporal variations in drought conditions in northern Asir, Saudi Arabia.

Changes in vegetation land cover are influenced by, and therefore an indicator of, climatic conditions. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between vegetation cover changes and drought events in a small-scale area. Six Landsat images during 1987-2019 were used to extract information about the vegetation land cover changes using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) in Balqarn Governorate in the northern mountains of Asir, Saudi Arabia. Two climatic parameters, temperature and precipitation, were used as time series for the same period and were decomposed to investigate the seasonal and trend changes for each parameter. The two parameters were also used to calculate the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to conduct an in-depth analysis of the drought events influencing vegetation cover. The results showed that the state of the vegetation coverage of the study area remained at a medium level with an average NDVI value, but the FVC values showed evidence of dynamic variability associated with drought and moisture events. The SPEI showed that the study area has been undergoing a long-duration drought event since 2004, ranging from light to severe drought, which was consistent with the time series decomposition results. This investigation has revealed that drought drives changes in vegetation cover and is expressed on small geographic scales as changes in the vegetation cover structure. The framework described here is simple and can be used to evaluate and manage drought risks.