Molecular Epidemiology Of Sars-Cov-2 In Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan: A Real World Clinical Experience

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak represents a thankfully rare yet extremely salient incident that had an adverse effect on individuals, families, and societies throughout the world. COVID-19 has the highest infectivity and spreading rate as compared to other human coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-2 was recognized as the disease causative agent that initially targets humans' respiratory system that may lead to multi-organ failure and death. To date, COVID-19 spread to 220 countries/regions of the world, including Pakistan. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of COVID-19 among the general population in District Mardan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. A total of 4199 suspected individuals (2898 were males, and 1301 were females) were screened through RT-PCR. The age of suspected individuals was ranging from 10-90 years, and the average age was found 42 +/- 20.8 years. Among all suspected individuals, 753 were SARS-CoV-2 positive and diagnosed with COVID-19. Among the positive individuals, 500 (66%) were males, and 253 (34%) were females. The overall prevalence was found at 17.93%. Most of the SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals were belonging to age -group 31 to 40 (n=182), followed by age-group 21 to 30 (n=166). The prevalence of COVID-19 in the Mardan district is very high and needs WHO recommended SOPs to control the spread of COVID-19.