Viral etiology of severe lower respiratory tract infections in SARS-CoV-2 negative hospitalized patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait.

Background: The prevalence of respiratory infections is largely underexplored in Kuwait. The aim of our study is to determine the etiology of infections from patients who are SARS-CoV-2 negative hospitalized with severe lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in Kuwait during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: We conducted an observational cross-sectional study among severe LRTI patients between September 2021 and March 2022.

Changing Patterns of SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence: A Snapshot among the General Population in Kuwait.

We sought to assess pre-vaccination and post-vaccination seroprevalences of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Kuwait and to compare antibody levels between vaccine types. In phase 1 (pre-vaccination period, = 19,363), blood samples were collected before the launch of COVID-19 vaccination in Kuwait between 1 September and 31 December 2020. Blood samples for phase 2 (post-vaccination period, = 4973) were collected between 1 September and 30 November 2021.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 seroprevalence survey among 10,256 workers in Kuwait.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a global pandemic. Seroprevalence surveillance is urgently needed to estimate and monitor the growing burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this study is to estimate the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among worker population residing in areas under lockdown in Kuwait and investigated their risk factors associated with a positive status.

Diagnostic Performance of Automated SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Assay in Nasal Swab during COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign.

Background: To control the spread of the pandemic brought about by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, it is necessary to have an automated reliable diagnostic assay. To date, the RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) has been the recommended laboratory method to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection, but there is a need for more automated and reliable tests. The aim of this real-life study was to assess the diagnostic performance of DiaSorin's LIAISON SARS-CoV-2 antigen (Ag) chemiluminescence immunoassay in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.