Burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990-2013: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013.

Objectives: We used findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 to report the burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR).

Methods: The burden of musculoskeletal disorders was calculated for the EMR's 22 countries between 1990 and 2013. A systematic analysis was performed on mortality and morbidity data to estimate prevalence, death, years of live lost, years lived with disability and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).

Presence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus antibodies in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide, cross-sectional, serological study.

Background: Scientific evidence suggests that dromedary camels are the intermediary host for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). However, the actual number of infections in people who have had contact with camels is unknown and most index patients cannot recall any such contact. We aimed to do a nationwide serosurvey in Saudi Arabia to establish the prevalence of MERS-CoV antibodies, both in the general population and in populations of individuals who have maximum exposure to camels.

Rapid point of care diagnostic tests for viral and bacterial respiratory tract infections--needs, advances, and future prospects.

Respiratory tract infections rank second as causes of adult and paediatric morbidity and mortality worldwide. Respiratory tract infections are caused by many different bacteria (including mycobacteria) and viruses, and rapid detection of pathogens in individual cases is crucial in achieving the best clinical management, public health surveillance, and control outcomes. Further challenges in improving management outcomes for respiratory tract infections exist: rapid identification of drug resistant pathogens; more widespread surveillance of infections, locally and internationally; and global responses to infections with pandemic potential.

Surveillance for emerging respiratory viruses.

Several new viral respiratory tract infectious diseases with epidemic potential that threaten global health security have emerged in the past 15 years. In 2003, WHO issued a worldwide alert for an unknown emerging illness, later named severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV) rapidly spread worldwide, causing more than 8000 cases and 800 deaths in more than 30 countries with a substantial economic impact.

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: public health surveillance and epidemiology.

Mass gatherings are regarded as potential risks for transmission of infectious diseases, and might compromise the health system of countries in which they are hosted. The evidence for increased transmission of infectious diseases at international sporting mass gatherings that attract many visitors from all over the world is not clear, and the evidence base for public health surveillance, epidemiology, and response at events such as the Olympics is small. However, infectious diseases are a recognised risk, and public health planning is, and should remain, a crucial part of the overall planning of sporting events.

Respiratory tract samples, viral load, and genome fraction yield in patients with Middle East respiratory syndrome.

Background: Analysis of clinical samples from patients with new viral infections is critical to confirm the diagnosis, to specify the viral load, and to sequence data necessary for characterizing the viral kinetics, transmission, and evolution. We analyzed samples from 112 patients infected with the recently discovered Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Methods: Respiratory tract samples from cases of MERS-CoV infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were investigated to determine the MERS-CoV load and fraction of the MERS-CoV genome.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease in children.

Background: In the initial description of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, many affected patients were adults with underlying medical comorbidities. Data on the clinical presentation and outcome of pediatric cases are lacking. We report the clinical presentation and outcome of MERS-CoV infection in 11 pediatric patients.

Transmission and evolution of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in Saudi Arabia: a descriptive genomic study.

Background: Since June, 2012, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has, worldwide, caused 104 infections in people including 49 deaths, with 82 cases and 41 deaths reported from Saudi Arabia. In addition to confirming diagnosis, we generated the MERS-CoV genomic sequences obtained directly from patient samples to provide important information on MERS-CoV transmission, evolution, and origin.

Methods: Full genome deep sequencing was done on nucleic acid extracted directly from PCR-confirmed clinical samples.

Epidemiological, demographic, and clinical characteristics of 47 cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease from Saudi Arabia: a descriptive study.

Background: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a new human disease caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV). Clinical data on MERS-CoV infections are scarce. We report epidemiological, demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of 47 cases of MERS-CoV infections, identify knowledge gaps, and define research priorities.

Family cluster of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections.

A human coronavirus, called the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), was first identified in September 2012 in samples obtained from a Saudi Arabian businessman who died from acute respiratory failure. Since then, 49 cases of infections caused by MERS-CoV (previously called a novel coronavirus) with 26 deaths have been reported to date. In this report, we describe a family case cluster of MERS-CoV infection, including the clinical presentation, treatment outcomes, and household relationships of three young men who became ill with MERS-CoV infection after the hospitalization of an elderly male relative, who died of the disease.

The immediate and long-term outcomes of newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

In spite of the innovations in the management of newborns with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) presenting with respiratory distress at birth, mortality and ongoing morbidity still remain high. This is a retrospective analysis of newborns with CDH to determine the immediate and long-term outcomes among survivors. Medical records of newborns with CDH and respiratory distress at birth between January 1993 and March 2002 were reviewed retrospectively.

Idiopathic intussusception in infancy and childhood.

Objective: Idiopathic intussusception is an important cause of abdominal pain, bleeding per rectum and intestinal obstruction in infancy and childhood. This aim of this study was to undertake a retrospective review of all children who presented with idiopathic intussusception over a 17-year period.

Methods: The medical records of children who presented with idiopathic intussusception from January 1984 through December 2000 at King Fahad National Guard Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were reviewed.