COMPARISON OF FOURTH WAVE VARIANT OF SARS-COV-2 AND ANCESTRAL WAVES, AN EXPERIENCE FROM A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, KARACHI

Authors

  • Abeera Ahmed Combined Military Hospital Malir, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi Pakistan
  • Muhammad Imran Combined Military Hospital Malir, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi Pakistan
  • Fatima Sana Combined Military Hospital Malir, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi Pakistan
  • Hafiz Waheed Khan Combined Military Hospital Malir, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi Pakistan
  • Syed Rehan Asghar Naqvi Combined Military Hospital Malir, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi Pakistan
  • Aisha Siddiqi Combined Military Hospital Malir, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55629/pakjpathol.v33i4.735

Abstract

Objective: The study aims to identify the key differences between ancestral strains and the fourth wave variant of SARS-CoV-2 by comparing the epidemiological and clinical profile of patients admitted since the commencement of CoVID-19 disease.

Material and Methods: The data of all those patients who were   SARS-CoV-2 positive from March 2020 to February 2022 was collected. Records of 99 patients admitted during the fourth were compared to admitted patients during three previous waves over a period of the past 23 months.

Results: From Jan till 2nd February 2022, 30.6% PCR turned out to be positive which was remarkably raised from our previous records where the positivity record was 9.11%. After October 2021 there was a remarkable reduction in SARS- CoV-2 infection, afterwards, we appreciated a sudden surge in positive cases during the first week of January 2022 (137/557 (24%)). This trend then led to a rise and fall pattern to 290/720(40%), 180/530 (33%) and 68/398 (17%) during the second, third and fourth week of January respectively. The majority of symptomatic patients developed mild disease 335/454(78%) and only 99/454(22%) developed moderate to a severe disease requiring hospitalization which was lower than the previous waves 410/1457(28%). The total mortality rate during the last three waves was 9% which was much higher than the recent strain during which mortality was only 1%.

Conclusion: Major epidemiological and clinical differences were observed between ancestral strains and fourth-wave variants of SARS-CoV-2 with decreased severity, fewer deaths, and a shorter hospital stay.

Keywords:  SARS -CoV-2, Omicron variants, Outbreak, Vaccination

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Published

30-12-2022

How to Cite

1.
Ahmed A, Imran M, Sana F, Waheed Khan H, Asghar Naqvi SR, Siddiqi A. COMPARISON OF FOURTH WAVE VARIANT OF SARS-COV-2 AND ANCESTRAL WAVES, AN EXPERIENCE FROM A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, KARACHI. Pak J Pathol [Internet]. 2022 Dec. 30 [cited 2024 Apr. 16];33(4):129-33. Available from: https://pakjpath.com/index.php/Pak-J-Pathol/article/view/735

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 4 (2022): Pakistan Journal of Pathology

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Abeera Ahmed, Muhammad Imran, Fatima Sana, Hafiz Waheed Khan, Syed Rehan Asghar Naqvi, Aisha Siddiqi

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