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Aim: This study explored the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic effects on overseas Pakistani's residing in various parts of the world, particularly in China, Saudi Arabia (SA), and the United Kingdom (UK)., Methods: This cross-sectional study was completed between November 2020 and April 2021. An online questionnaire was designed and circulated via various social media mediums to overseas Pakistani communities. The obtained data were statistically analyzed through SPSS version 19 for windows. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: A total of 542 overseas Pakistani participated in the current study. In total, 157 (29%) were females and 385 (71%) males. There were 174 (32.1%), 142 (26.45%), 117 (21.6%), and 109 (19.85%) participants from the UK, SA, China, and other countries respectively. Some participants, or their family members, 93 (17.2%), got infected with the COVID-19. About one-third, 165 (30.4%), of the respondents were afraid that their company would violate their contracts or lose their jobs or be paid less. The majority, 469 (86.5%), believed that the lockdown is increasing their psychological stress. More than half of the participants, 314 (57.9%), stated that the Pakistani embassy did not facilitate them in their country of stay. About one-third, 194 (35.8%), of the respondents faced visa-related issues. More than one-third of respondents, 221 (40.8%), faced health issues due to lack of physical activities during the lockdown. Males were afraid that their company would violate their contract, lose jobs, or be paid less than females ( p < 0.001). Both genders had psychological stress and health issues because of the pandemic. The participants from SA faced more visa-related issues, and they were less satisfied with the efforts of the Pakistani embassy to facilitate them compared to the UK and China participants ( p = 0.013)., Conclusion: Our data indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Pakistanis living in the UK, SA, China, and other parts of the world. They had health-related issues, visa problems and dissatisfaction with Pakistani embassy facilitations. Pakistanis living abroad require government assistance to resolve their issues., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ahmad, Murtaza, Ahmad, Murad, Baig, Imtiaz, Baig, Baig, Siraj and Sagga.)

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing daily worldwide. Although different aspects of CRC have been studied in other parts of the world, relatively little or almost no information is available in Pakistan about different aspects of this disease at the molecular level. The present study was aimed at determining the frequency and prevalence of K ras gene mutations in Pakistani CRC patients. Tissue and blood samples of 150 CRC patients (64% male and 36% female) were used for PCR amplification of K ras and detection of mutations by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and nucleotide sequencing. The K ras mutation frequency was found to be 13%, and the most prevalent mutations were found at codons 12 and 13. A novel mutation was also found at codon 31. The dominant mutation observed was a G to A transition. Female patients were more susceptible to K ras mutations, and these mutations were predominant in patients with a nonmetastatic stage of CRC. No significant differences in the prevalence of K ras mutations were observed for patient age, gender, or tumor type. It can be inferred from this study that Pakistani CRC patients have a lower frequency of K ras mutations compared to those observed in other parts of the world, and that K ras mutations seemed to be significantly associated with female patients.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a principal cause of severe liver diseases worldwide and a possible source of significant morbidity and fatality in the long term. Information on the genotype is more significant because it has prognostic value in the response to antiviral therapy., Objectives: This study aimed to determine the frequency of various HCV genotypes circulating in the different districts of Punjab and to show the pattern distribution of HCV genotypes in different age groups and sexes., Materials and Methods: A total of 542 HCV-positive patients were selected from various districts of the province and were subjected to an HCV genotype-specific assay. Among 542 positive patients, 300 (55.35%) were men and 242 (44.65%) were women. There were 245 (45.20%), 61 (11.25%), 56 (10.33%), 56 (10.33%), 53 (9.77%), 27 (5%), 20 (3.69%), 16 (3%), and eight (1.47%) HCV-positive patients from Lahore, Sargodha, Multan, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Mandi Bahauddin Gujranwala, and Sahiwal districts, respectively., Results: Of a total of 542 serum samples analyzed, 476 (88%) were successfully genotyped whereas 66 (12%) samples were undetermined genotypes. Among the typable genotypes, 1a was found in 37 (7%), 1b in 18 (3%), 3a in 386 (71%), and genotype 3b in five (1%) patients. Thirty patients (6%) were identified to be infected with mixed HCV genotypes. Genotypes 3a (P=0.0001), 1a (P=0.001), and untypable genotypes (P=0.03) were circulating significantly in all the studied districts. All the genotypes were distributed evenly in male and female patients. The most affected age range of patients was 21-40 years as compared with teenage and older age groups., Conclusion: The study found a significantly high prevalence of HCV among the patients of Punjab. In addition, genotype 1a was found to be a significantly and rapidly increasing genotype in the study area. It appears that HCV-3a (the most prevalent genotype) may be replaced by genotype 1a. If this occurs, it will make the present scenario more complex in terms of response to therapy and economic burden on the health sector of Pakistan. HCV infection is more common in the age group of 21-40 years. All the genotypes were distributed at the same frequency in men and women.