Browsing by Author "Atkin, Stephen"

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    Epidemiological assessment of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection
    (Elsevier, 2022) Almadhi, Marwa; Alsayyad, Adel Salman; Conroy, Ronan; Atkin, Stephen; Al Awadhi, Abdulla; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; AlQahtani, Manaf; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Objectives: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination has been shown to reduce infection severity; however, the reinfection frequency among unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, and fully vaccinated individuals remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the rates of and factors associated with such occurrences. Methods: This retrospective epidemiological report included 1362 COVID-19 reinfection cases in Bahrain between April 2020 and July 2021. We analyzed differences in disease severity and reinfection characteristics among various vaccination statuses: fully vaccinated, interrupted vaccination, one-dose vaccination, postreinfection vaccination, and unvaccinated. Results: Reinfection cases increased from zero per month in April-June 2020 to a sharp peak of 579 in May 2021. A significantly larger proportion of reinfected individuals were male (60.3%, P <0.0001). Reinfection episodes were highest among those 30-39 years of age (29.7%). The fewest reinfection episodes occurred at 3-6 months after the first infection (20.6%) and most occurred ≥9 months after the initial infection (46.4%). Most individuals were asymptomatic during both episodes (35.7%). Reinfection disease severity was mild, with vaccinated patients less likely to have symptomatic reinfection (odds ratio 0.71, P = 0.004). Only 6.6% of reinfected patients required hospitalization. One death was recorded; the patient belonged to the unvaccinated group. Conclusion: Vaccine-induced immunity and previous infection with or without vaccination were effective in reducing reinfection disease severity.
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    Quarantining arriving travelers in the era of COVID-19: balancing the risk and benefits a learning experience from Bahrain
    (Springer Nature, 2021-01-12) Abdulrahman, Abdulkarim; AlSabbagh, Manaf; AlAwadhi, Abdulla; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Rabaan, Ali A.; Atkin, Stephen; AlQahtani, Manaf; Medicine, School of Medicine
    The quarantine period imposed to travelers in many countries due to COVID19 is a major obstacle for any traveler. Lifting the quarantine period could lead to significant improvement in people’s quality of life and any country’s economy. Bahrain have used two quarantine models from arriving passengers. We report data about the incidence of COVID19 on arriving passengers at Bahrain International airport. Infection rates were reported on arrival, during quarantine and after leaving quarantine. Results showed that travelers had low incidence of COVID19 on arriving and during the quarantine period, while becoming at higher risk after leaving quarantine. We concluded that quarantine requirement maybe lifted for arriving travelers. Testing upon arrival with implementation of the public health preventative measures can minimize the risk of transmission.