The Official Publication of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and Saudi Association for Public Health
An indispensable resource for all health professionals who are partners in the management of patients with communicable diseases



The Journal of Infection and Public Health, first official journal of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences and the Saudi Association for Public Health, aims to be the foremost scientific, peer-reviewed journal encompassing infection prevention and control, microbiology, infectious diseases, public health and the application of healthcare epidemiology to the evaluation of health outcomes. The point of view of the journal is that infection and public health are closely intertwined and that advances in one area will have positive consequences on the other.

The journal will be useful to all health professionals who are partners in the management of patients with communicable diseases, keeping them up to date. The journal is proud to have an international and diverse editorial board that will assist and facilitate the publication of articles that reflect a global view on infection control and public health, as well as emphasizing our focus on supporting the needs of public health practitioners.

It is our aim to improve healthcare by reducing risk of infection and related adverse outcomes by critical review, selection, and dissemination of new and relevant information in the field of infection control, public health and infectious diseases in all healthcare settings and the community.

The Journal of Infection and Public Health will allow us to seek opportunities to work with others who share our aim, to enhance our work through partnership, and to uphold the standards of our profession and contribute to its advancement.

Editor-in-Chief
Sameera Al Johani
King Abdulaziz Medical City Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Email Sameera Al Johani
Associate Editors
Awa Aidara-Kane
World Health Organization Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses, Genève, Switzerland
Jaffar Al Tawfiq
John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Benedetta Allegranzi
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Majid M. Alshamrani
King Abdulaziz Medical City Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Matteo Bassetti
University Hospital Santa Maria della Misericordia of Udine, Udine, Italy
Peter Horby
University of Oxford Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Oxford, United Kingdom
Georgio Pappas
University General Hospital of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
Paul Anantharajah Tambyah
National University Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore, Singapore
Executive Advisory Editor
Hanan Balkhy
King Abdulaziz Medical City Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Managing Editor
Shuaib Hussain Vaiyanna
King Abdulaziz Medical City Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Executive Editorial Advisory Board
Louise Marie Dembry
VA Connecticut Health System West Haven Campus, West Haven, United States
Keiji Fukuda
University of Hong Kong School of Public Health, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Rana Hajjeh
World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
Hani Jokhdar
Ministry of Health Infection Control Directorate, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Rima Khabbaz
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, United States
Dick Menzies
McGill University Respiratory Division, Montréal, Canada
Didier Pittet
UH Geneva Medical Center, Geneva, United States
Robert Steffen
University of Zurich Travel Clinic, Zürich, Switzerland
Maria Van Kerkhove
Pasteur Institute Center for Global Health, Paris, France
Timothy R. Walsh
Cardiff University Cardiff Institute of Infection and Immunity, Cardiff, United Kingdom
David Weber
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, United States
Editorial Board
N. Abdul Razzaq
Ministry of Health - Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
M. Akova
Hacettepe University Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Ankara, Turkey
H. Al Abdaly
Ministry of Health Infection Control Directorate, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
S. Al Abri
The Royal Hospital Department of Infectious Diseases, Muscat, Oman
A. Al Assiri
Ministry of Health Infection Control Directorate, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A. Al Barrak
Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
H. Al Katheri
Qatar Ministry of Public Health Healthcare Quality Management and Patient Safety Department, Doha, Qatar
S. Al Khawaja
Salmaniya Medical Complex, Al Manamah, Bahrain
A. Al Othman
King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
J.M. Al Salman
Salmaniya Medical Complex Department of Internal Medicine, Al Manamah, Bahrain
A. Al Thaqafi
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences College of Public Health and Medical Informatics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
S. Al Thawadi
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
M. Al Zahrani
Security Forces Hospital Program, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A. Alrajhi
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Y.M. Arabi
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A. El Metwally
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences College of Public Health and Medical Informatics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
M. Falagas
Alfa Institute of Biomedical Science, Athens, Greece
S. Gordon
Emory University Department of Medicine, Atlanta, United States
J. Jagger
University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, United States
W. Jarvis
Jason and Jarvis Associates, Hilton Head, United States
S. Mehtar
Fac. of Medicine and Health Sciences,Beheer Unit for Infection Prevention and Control,Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Academic Hospital, Stellenbosch, South Africa
M. Muneef
King Abdulaziz Medical City Department of Pediatrics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
T. Perl
Johns Hopkins University Division of Infectious Diseases, Baltimore, United States
M. C. Ramírez-Soto
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia School of Public Health and Management Carlos Vidal Layseca, Lima, Peru
V. Rosenthal
International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
B. Soule
Joint Commission Resources Inc, Oakbrook Terrace, United States
Honorary Editorial Board
Bandar Al Knawy
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Al Rabeah
Ministry of Health - Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ex-officio (Past) Editor-in-Chief
Ziad Memish
Alfaisal University College of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Editorial Assistant
Brittany Lucas
King Abdulaziz Medical City Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Biostatistics Editor
Aiman El Saed
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences College of Public Health and Medical Informatics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia