Enhanced event-based surveillance: Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) during FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar.

Background: Public health threats can significantly impact mass gatherings and enhancing surveillance systems would thus be crucial. Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) was introduced to Qatar to complement the existing surveillance measures in preparation to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 (FWC22). This study estimated the empirical probability of EIOS detecting signals of public health relevance.

Enhancing the notification system for surveillance of infectious diseases in Qatar during the FIFA World Cup 2022: project overview.

Background: In 2022, the Surveillance Department of the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar adopted an integrated project called the Notification Enhancement Project (NEP) to enhance the infectious disease notification system. Efficient surveillance and notification promote early alerts and allow immediate interference in reducing morbidity and mortality from outbreaks. The project was designed to improve the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and notification processes of healthcare workers in Qatar by increasing their reporting rates.

HIV case reporting and HIV treatment outcomes in Qatar.

Aim: The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of available HIV case reporting and treatment data for in Qatar for the period 2015-2020.

Methods: HIV case reporting data were analyzed by sex and mode of transmission. To construct HIV care continuum from the data available, we obtained information on the total number of HIV diagnosed patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART) between January 1st 2015 and December 31st 2020, number of patients on ART who had an HIV viral load test and the number who were virally suppressed (defined as having the viral load of less than 1,000 copies/mL).

Dengue Epidemiology in Qatar from 2013-2021: A Retrospective Study.

(1) Background: Qatar does not have any indigenous cases of dengue; however, the influx of immigrants from dengue endemic countries, the environment, and climate suitability for Aedes vector mosquitoes suggest a potential risk for local transmission. In this study, we investigated various demographic factors to determine the epidemiological features of dengue in Qatar. (2) Methods: In the present retrospective study, we reviewed dengue notification data received at the national surveillance system, Ministry of Public Health, Qatar, between January 2013, and December 2021, and we analyzed the incidence of the dengue disease burden to identify factors that could contribute to the dissemination of the disease in Qatar.

Duration of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Effectiveness against Severe Disease.

Waning immunity following administration of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines remains a concern for many health systems. We undertook a study to determine if recent reports of waning for severe disease could have been attributed to design-related bias by conducting a study only among those detected with a first SARS-CoV-2 infection. We used a matched case-control study design with the study base being all individuals with first infection with SARS-CoV-2 reported in the State of Qatar between 1 January 2021 and 20 February 2022.