text: Prevalence of Mental Health Problems During Virus Epidemics in the General Public Health Care Workers and Survivors A Rapid Review of the Evidence b Background b The swift spread of SARS CoV 2 provides a challenge worldwide As a consequence of restrictive public health measures like isolation quarantine and community containment the provision of mental health services is a major challenge Evidence from past virus epidemics and the current SARS CoV 2 outbreak indicate high prevalence rates of mental health problems MHP as short and long term consequences However a broader picture of MHP among different populations is still lacking b Methods b We conducted a rapid review on MHP prevalence rates published since 2000 during and after epidemics including the general public health care workers and survivors Any quantitative articles reporting on MHP rates were included Out of 2 855 articles screened a total of 74 were included in this review b Results b Most original studies on MHP were conducted in China in the context of SARS CoV 1 and reported on anxiety depression post traumatic stress symptoms disorder general psychiatric morbidity and psychological symptoms The MHP rates across studies populations and epidemics vary substantially While some studies show high and persistent rates of MHP in populations directly affected by isolation quarantine threat of infection infection or life threatening symptoms e g health care workers other studies report minor effects Furthermore even less affected populations e g distant to epidemic epicenter no contact history with suspected or confirmed cases can show high rates of MHP b Discussion b MHP vary largely across countries and risk groups in reviewed studies The results call attention to potentially high MHP during epidemics Individuals affected directly by an epidemic might be at a higher risk of short or even long term mental health impairments This study delivers insights stemming from a wide range of psychiatric instruments and questionnaires The results call for the use of validated and standardized instruments reference norms and pre post measurements to better understand the magnitude of the MHP during and after the epidemics Nevertheless emerging MHP should be considered during epidemics including the provision of access to mental health care to mitigate potential mental impairments 