In Pakistan, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported on 26 February 2020, having the travel history from Iran. Islamabad and Rawalpindi have also been affected by COVID-19 epidemic. On 23 March 2020, the Government of Pakistan has declared smart lockdown all over the country including Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The aim of the study was to identify the status of the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 among the general population of the twin cities (Islamabad and Rawalpindi) in Pakistan during the COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted from 5 to 19 May 2020, the week during smart lockdown in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Demographic characteristics were compared with independent-samples ttest, one-way, or Chi-square test. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with low knowledge score. Data analyses were conducted with SPSS version 21.0. A total of 1,282 participants completed the questionnaire. Among this final sample, the average age was 30.65 years. Among the survey respondents, 680 (53%) were women, 1096 (86%) held a bachelor's degree or above, 634 (50%) were engaged with the government and private sector and 606 (47%) were married. The overall correct rate of knowledge was 70%. The majority of the respondents agreed that COVID-19 will finally be successfully controlled (59%). Most of the participants had not visited any crowded place (74%) and 95% responded that they have reduced their outdoor activities. In response to precaution measures, 86% stated that they would isolate themselves if they ever felt a fever or cough. The study findings suggest that residents of the two cities have reasonable levels of knowledge on COVID-19. However, it is necessary to launch health education and awareness campaigns to improve the knowledge and practices about COVID-19, to control its transmission.
Background: On 18 March 2020, the second case of COVID-19 in the capital territory was reported by the local health department of Islamabad who presented with typical COVID-19 symptoms and had travel history. As per directions of Chief FEDSD, a team of field epidemiologists conducted outbreak investigations. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the clinical and epidemiological patterns of disease transmission and implementation of recommended SOPs.Methods: Descriptive outbreak investigation followed by contact tracing was done in Kot Hathyal, Islamabad, from 21 March to 4 April 2020. Each case was enrolled as per the WHO predefined case definition and questionnaire, and data was maintained in line list. The daily health status of affected individuals was monitored physically as well as through phone calls. Data was maintained in Microsoft Excel. Secondary attack rate, median age, male to female ratio and 95% confidence interval was calculated in OpenEpi (version 3.01) for low and high risk contact groups.Results: During investigation, 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases were enrolled as a result of contact with index case, male to female ratio was 5:1, and median age was 41 years (34 to 56 years). All cases exhibited symptoms compatible with COVID-19 except two. The median incubation period was 4 days. The secondary attack rate was 81.80%. No transmission from asymptomatic cases were noted. Conclusion:The index case was a foreign national who had arrived in Pakistan mid-November 2019 to attend a religious gathering at Lahore from 12 to 15 March 2020. The intra and inter city travel caused the introduction of 17 new cases in Islamabad. Due to the lack of fully-fledged isolation centers in Islamabad, a home-based isolation strategy was introduced for the first time in the country. As the affected area was densely populated, the whole area was cordoned off for two weeks. This was also the country's first lockdown.
Background: Chikungunya is a vector-borne disease that is spread by the mosquito Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Disease mostly occurs in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Recent outbreak of chikungunya was reported in 2017 in Karachi, Pakistan, after which sporadic cases were reported from different areas of Pakistan. There are very limited demographic data available for chikungunya in Pakistan and therefore, further information is required. The current study will provide latest information to assist public health professionals and policy makers in order to provide effective management of cases by means of appropriate resource. Methods: In this cross sectional study, information regarding 750 laboratory confirmed cases from Dec 2016 to Apr 2018 were collected from the virology laboratory, NIH. Data regarding age, sex, reporting facility, district and province were collected. Data entry and cleaning was done in Microsoft excel and descriptive analysis using epiInfo. The data were grouped, tabulated and represented graphically while geographical location of the cases was mapped. Results: A total of 403(53.73%) cases were male and 347 (46.27%) female with an age range from 0.6 to 80 years and the mean age was (32.5+- 17.5). The most affected age group was 20 to 29 Years. Sindh remained the most affected province with 494 (65.87%) cases reported followed by KP with 167 (22.27%) cases. The highest number of cases [148(19.7%)] were reported in May 2017. Conclusion: Provision and sharing of accurate and timely data can reduce the risk and spread of the disease.
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