Background Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the only two countries in the Arabian Peninsula that are yet to achieve malaria elimination. Over the past two decades, the malaria control programme in Saudi Arabia has successfully reduced the annual number of malaria cases, with the lowest incidence rate across the country reported in 2014. This study aims to investigate the distribution of residual malaria in Jazan region and to identify potential climatic drivers of autochthonous malaria cases in the region. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out from 1 April 2018 to 31 January 2019 in Jazan region, southwestern Saudi Arabia, which targeted febrile individuals attending hospitals and primary healthcare centres. Participants’ demographic data were collected, including age, gender, nationality, and residence. Moreover, association of climatic variables with the monthly autochthonous malaria cases reported during the period of 2010–2017 was retrospectively analysed. Results A total of 1124 febrile subjects were found to be positive for malaria during the study period. Among them, 94.3 and 5.7% were infected with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, respectively. In general, subjects aged 18–30 years and those aged over 50 years had the highest (42.7%) and lowest (5.9%) percentages of malaria cases. Similarly, the percentage of malaria-positive cases was higher among males than females (86.2 vs 13.8%), among non-Saudi compared to Saudi subjects (70.6 vs 29.4%), and among patients residing in rural rather than in urban areas (89.8 vs 10.2%). A total of 407 autochthonous malaria cases were reported in Jazan region between 2010 and 2017. Results of zero-inflated negative binomial regression analysis showed that monthly average temperature and relative humidity were the significant climatic determinants of autochthonous malaria in the region. Conclusion Malaria remains a public health problem in most governorates of Jazan region. The identification and monitoring of malaria transmission hotspots and predictors would enable control efforts to be intensified and focused on specific areas and therefore expedite the elimination of residual malaria from the whole region.

Dengue is an acute systemic viral disease that has been developed globally in both chronic and epidemic transmission periods. Dengue virus (DENV) is a member of the Flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family, which endangers public health. Limited studies have been performed in the Saudi Arabia and there are no epidemiological as well as molecular screening of DENV in the Southwestern region and this current study was conducted on the epidemiology of dengue in the Southwestern region of Saudi Arabia. Simultaneously, we have screened the 100 patients for DENV using the real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. The current study results confirmed that 6637 people from various hospitals and locations in Jazan, Southwestern regions, were enrolled in this study from 2012 to 2020. The overall mean age was 30.02 ± 18.01 years, with 62.8% of males and 37.2% of females enrolled. This study included nearly three-fourths of the Saudi participants and one-fourth of the expatriates, and 56.6% of the positive cases were enrolled. In 2019, the most instances were enrolled, with 44% of positive cases. When screened using the RT-PCR assay, 93% of the positive patients were recruited, according to the quality control analysis. In conclusion, the current study results confirmed the prevalence of DENV was increased drastically since 2012 to 2020. High number of cases were registered prior to the Pandemic. The screening for DENV was performed with RT-PCR assay and NSI antigen should also be implemented to cross-check the results which was previously performed with RT-PCR analysis.

No abstract

High-frequency home accidents draw more attention to the protection of our home environment. WHO has reported that home deaths were among the first 20 causes of death in the 0–14 age group worldwide in 2012. This innovative research was designed to examine children under 15 years of age at home, in 2018 in the Jazan area of Saudi Arabia. Data were collected retrospectively from 19 hospitals in the Jazan area of southern Saudi Arabia during the period from September to December 2019. Data showed that, for the first time, the incidence rate of child home incidents in the Jazan area was 7.4 per 100 children in 2018. Falling, burning, swallowing foreign bodies, and domestic violence were among the most common types of injuries recorded. Home safety continued to be one of the main public health issues in the area with 29,812 home injuries in 1 year, 36.8% bone fractures, 31.6% body distortions, 9.2% distortion fractures and 5.3% child impairment. This study is a crucial step towards addressing the severity of home accidents in Saudi Arabia; troubling figures need further analysis, regular registry, informed policies and well-planned action to avoid these types of accidents.