{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T08:02:32Z","timestamp":1789545752572,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,5]],"date-time":"2021-11-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1636070400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the trends in hospital admissions due to viral infections characterized by skin and mucous membrane lesions in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019. Methods: This is an ecological study using publicly available databases in England and Wales; the Hospital Episode Statistics database in England and the Patient Episode Database for Wales. Hospital admissions data were collected for the period between April 1999 and March 2019. Hospital admissions due to viral infections characterized by skin and mucous membrane lesions were identified using the tenth version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases system, diagnostic codes B00\u2013B09. The trend in hospital admissions was assessed using a Poisson model. Results: Hospital admissions for different causes increased by 51.9% (from 25.67 (95% CI 25.23\u201326.10) in 1999 to 38.98 (95% CI 38.48\u201339.48) in 2019 per 100,000 persons, trend test, p &lt; 0.01). The most prevalent viral infections characterized by skin and mucous membrane lesions hospital admissions causes were zoster (herpes zoster), varicella (chickenpox), herpesviral (herpes simplex) infections, and viral warts, which accounted for 26.9%, 23.4%, 18.7%, and 17.6%, respectively. The age group below 15 years accounted for 43.2% of the total number of admissions. Females contributed to 50.5% of the total number of admissions. Hospital admission rate in males increased by 61.1% (from 25.21 (95% CI 24.59\u201325.82) in 1999 to 40.60 (95% CI 39.87\u201341.32) in 2019 per 100,000 persons). The increase in females was 43.2% (from 26.11 (95% CI 25.49\u201326.72) in 1999 to 37.40 (95% CI 36.70\u201338.09) in 2019 per 100,000 persons). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates an evident variation in hospital admission of viral infections characterized by skin and mucous membrane lesions based on age and gender. Efforts should be directed towards vaccinating high-risk groups, particularly the elderly and females. Moreover, efforts should be focused on vaccinating the young population against varicella, particularly females who are more susceptible to acquiring the infection. Further observational and epidemiological studies are needed to identify other factors associated with increased hospital admission rates.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182111649","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,7]],"date-time":"2021-11-07T20:41:14Z","timestamp":1636317674000},"page":"11649","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["Hospital Admission Trends Due to Viral Infections Characterised by Skin and Mucous Membrane Lesions in the Past Two Decades in England and Wales: An Ecological Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8440-7446","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdallah Y.","family":"Naser","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman 11622, Jordan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hamzeh Mohammad","family":"Alrawashdeh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Sharif Eye Centers, Irbid 11511, Jordan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan","family":"Alwafi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Mecca 21514, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Alnoor Specialist Hospital, Ministry of Health, Mecca 24241, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amal Khaleel","family":"AbuAlhommos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmacy Practice Department, Clinical Pharmacy College, King Faisal University, Alhasa 43518, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6126-3379","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zahraa","family":"Jalal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4173-6490","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vibhu","family":"Paudyal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1934-3751","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zahra Khalil","family":"Alsairafi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kuwait University, Kuwait City 12037, Kuwait"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6602-3473","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emad M.","family":"Salawati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7937-5387","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed","family":"Samannodi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Mecca 21514, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kanar","family":"Sweiss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman 11622, Jordan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yousef","family":"Aldalameh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman 11622, Jordan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fatemah M.","family":"Alsaleh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kuwait University, Kuwait City 12037, Kuwait"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7832-1184","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammad","family":"Abusamak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Special Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Al Balqa Applied University, Salt 19117, Jordan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmad","family":"Shamieh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Daniel Castro Dental Clinics, El Paso, TX 79911, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eyad I.","family":"Tantawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, King Faisal Hospital, Ministry of Health, Mecca 11211, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammad S.","family":"Dairi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Mecca 21514, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Motaz","family":"Dairi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Mecca 21514, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"524","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2021.01.076","article-title":"Trends and strategies to combat viral infections: A review on FDA 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