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Epidemiological investigation of the first 5685 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Qatar, 28 February-18 April 2020.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To define the epidemiological curve of COVID-19 in Qatar and determine factors associated with severe or critical illness. DESIGN:Case series of first 5685 COVID-19 cases in Qatar. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:All confirmed COVID-19 cases in the State of Qatar between 28 February and 18 April 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Number of total and daily new COVID-19 infections; demographic characteristics and comorbidity burden and severity of infection; factors associated with severe or critical illness. RESULTS:Between 28 February and 18 April 2020, 5685 cases of COVID-19 were identified. Median age was 34 (IQR 28-43) years, 88.9% were male and 8.7% were Qatari nationals. Overall, 83.6% had no concomitant comorbidity, and 3.0% had three or more comorbidities. The overwhelming majority (90.9%) were asymptomatic or with minimal symptoms, with 2.0% having severe or critical illness. Seven deaths were observed during the time interval studied. Presence of hypertension or diabetes was associated with a higher risk of severe or critical illness, but age was not. The epidemiological curve indicated two distinct patterns of infection, a larger cluster among expatriate craft and manual workers and a smaller one among Qatari nationals returning from abroad during the epidemic. CONCLUSION:COVID-19 infections in Qatar started in two distinct clusters, but then became more widespread in the population through community transmission. Infections were mostly asymptomatic or with minimal symptoms and associated with very low mortality. Severe/critical illness was associated with presence of hypertension or diabetes but not with increasing age.

SUBMITTER: Al Kuwari HM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7542927 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Epidemiological investigation of the first 5685 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Qatar, 28 February-18 April 2020.

Al Kuwari Hanan M HM Abdul Rahim Hanan F HF Abu-Raddad Laith J LJ Abou-Samra Abdul-Badi AB Al Kanaani Zaina Z Al Khal Abdullatif A Al Kuwari Einas E Al Marri Salih S Al Masalmani Muna M Al Romaihi Hamad E HE Al Thani Mohamed H MH Coyle Peter V PV Latif Ali N AN Owen Robert R Bertollini Roberto R Butt Adeel Ajwad AA

BMJ open 20201007 10

<h4>Objective</h4>To define the epidemiological curve of COVID-19 in Qatar and determine factors associated with severe or critical illness.<h4>Design</h4>Case series of first 5685 COVID-19 cases in Qatar.<h4>Setting and participants</h4>All confirmed COVID-19 cases in the State of Qatar between 28 February and 18 April 2020.<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Number of total and daily new COVID-19 infections; demographic characteristics and comorbidity burden and severity of infection; factors associ ...[more]

PMID: 33033033

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Project description:As of April 2, 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in >890,000 cases and >45,000 deaths worldwide, including 239,279 cases and 5,443 deaths in the United States (1,2). In the United States, 22% of the population is made up of infants, children, and adolescents aged <18 years (children) (3). Data from China suggest that pediatric COVID-19 cases might be less severe than cases in adults and that children might experience different symptoms than do adults (4,5); however, disease characteristics among pediatric patients in the United States have not been described. Data from 149,760 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurring during February 12-April 2, 2020 were analyzed. Among 149,082 (99.6%) reported cases for which age was known, 2,572 (1.7%) were among children aged <18 years. Data were available for a small proportion of patients on many important variables, including symptoms (9.4%), underlying conditions (13%), and hospitalization status (33%). Among those with available information, 73% of pediatric patients had symptoms of fever, cough, or shortness of breath compared with 93% of adults aged 18-64 years during the same period; 5.7% of all pediatric patients, or 20% of those for whom hospitalization status was known, were hospitalized, lower than the percentages hospitalized among all adults aged 18-64 years (10%) or those with known hospitalization status (33%). Three deaths were reported among the pediatric cases included in this analysis. These data support previous findings that children with COVID-19 might not have reported fever or cough as often as do adults (4). Whereas most COVID-19 cases in children are not severe, serious COVID-19 illness resulting in hospitalization still occurs in this age group. Social distancing and everyday preventive behaviors remain important for all age groups as patients with less serious illness and those without symptoms likely play an important role in disease transmission (6,7).

Dataset Information

Epidemiological investigation of the first 5685 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Qatar, 28 February-18 April 2020.

Publications

Epidemiological investigation of the first 5685 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Qatar, 28 February-18 April 2020.

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