Antibiotic-free broiler meat production is becoming increasingly popular worldwide due to consumer perception that it is superior to conventional broiler meat. Globally, broiler farming impacts the income generation of low-income households, helping to alleviate poverty and secure food in the countryside and in semi-municipal societies. For decades, antibiotics have been utilized in the poultry industry to prevent and treat diseases and promote growth. This practice contributes to the development of drug-resistant bacteria in livestock, including poultry, and humans through the food chain, posing a global public health threat. Additionally, consumer demand for antibiotic-free broiler meat is increasing. However, there are many challenges that need to be overcome by adopting suitable strategies to produce antibiotic-free broiler meat with regards to food safety and chicken welfare issues. Herein, we focus on the importance and current scenario of antibiotic use, prospects, and challenges in the production of sustainable antibiotic-free broiler meat, emphasizing broiler farming in the context of Bangladesh. Moreover, we also discuss the need for and challenges of antibiotic alternatives and provide a future outlook for antibiotic-free broiler meat production.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to discuss multipurpose community information and knowledge centres (MCTs) and then describes and assesses the telecommunication facilities (and hence information access and provision) of such telecentres in Bangladesh including radio, television, telephone and internet facilities. The paper then highlights problems and prospects, in rural areas of Bangladesh, of information access through the telecentres. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on a review of literature collected through the internet, personal visits and other secondary sources such as research reports and articles. Findings -The paper highlights the existing MCT initiatives in rural Bangladesh and discusses their problems and prospects. Originality/value -The paper is one of the very few studies which focuses on the prospects of MCTs for rural Bangladesh, particularly as regards information and knowledge access and provision, and proposes future directions for the development of MCTs in Bangladesh.

No abstract

BackgroundResearch on health expectancy has been carried out in Bangladesh but none of it has examined the differences in Disability-Free Life Expectancy (DFLE) between urban and rural setting in context of rapid urbanization of Bangladesh in past decades.ObjectivesThe present study aims to estimate DFLE for people of all ages living in urban and rural areas in Bangladesh, and to examine the differences in DFLE between these two areas.MethodsData from the Sample Vital Registration System 2010 and the Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010 were used in this study. The Sullivan method was applied to estimate DFLE in Bangladesh.ResultsHigher rates of mortality and disability were observed in rural areas compared to urban areas with few exceptions. Statistically significant differences in DFLE were revealed from birth to age 15 years for both sexes between urban and rural areas. Urban males had a longer life expectancy (LE), longer DFLE and shorter LE with disability both in number and proportion when compared to rural males. Rural females at age 20+ years had a longer LE than urban females but urban females had a longer DFLE and a shorter LE with disability in both number and proportion at all ages than did rural females.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that there were clear inequalities in LE, DFLE and LE with disability between rural and urban areas of Bangladesh along with age-specific differences as well. These findings may serve as useful and benchmark for intervention and policy implications for reducing the gap in health outcomes.

Background Dengue, the mosquito borne disease has become a growing public health threat in Bangladesh due to its gradual increasing morbidity and mortality since 2000. In 2019, the country witnessed the worst ever dengue outbreak. The present study was conducted to characterize the socio-economic factors and knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) status towards dengue among the people of Bangladesh. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,010 randomly selected respondents from nine different administrative regions of Bangladesh between July and November 2019. A structured questionnaire was used covering socio-demographic characteristics of the participants including their knowledge, awareness, treatment and practices regarding dengue fever. Factors associated with the knowledge and awareness of dengue were investigated separately, using multivariable logistic regression. Results Although majority (93.8%) of the respondents had heard about dengue, however, they had still misconceptions about Aedes breeding habitat. Around half of the study population (45.7%) had mistaken belief that Aedes can breed in dirty water and 43.1% knew that Aedes mosquito usually bites around sunrise and sunset. Fever indication was found in 36.6% of people which is the most common symptom of dengue. Among the socio-demographic variables, the level of education of the respondents was identified as an independent predictor for both knowledge (p<0.05) and awareness (p<0.05) of dengue. The preventive practice level was moderately less than the knowledge level though there was a significant association (p<0.05) existed between knowledge and preventive practices. Our study noted that TV/Radio is an effective predominant source of information about dengue fever. Conclusion As dengue is emerging in Bangladesh, there is an urgent need to increase health promotion activities through campaigns for eliminating the misconception and considerable knowledge gaps about dengue.

Household solid waste management is a major public health concern in the community people and closely related to daily human life. Community people can play a pivotal role in managing household solid waste. Objectives: This study was aimed to assess the awareness and practice of household solid waste management among the people living in the Mugda community in Dhaka. Methods: A descriptive co-relational study design was used. A total of 112 participants were selected with the convenience sampling technique. The data collection period was from July 2019 to June 2020. The data were collected from the participants by face-to-face interview through the door-to-door survey by using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed by using descriptive, Pearson correlation, t-test, and one-way ANOVA statistics. Results: Finding of the study shows that the mean awareness regarding household solid waste management was 7.96 (SD = 1.64) and the mean practice was 2.94 (SD = 1.35) respectively. It indicates that the awareness and practice of community people were at a moderate level. In bivariate analysis, it has been shown that training on household solid waste management ("P < 0.001"), and recyclable waste (p = 0.019) were statistically significantly correlated with household solid waste management practice. Conclusion: Overall awareness and practice level of household solid waste management were at a moderate level among the community people. Training on household solid waste management and recyclable waste management were statistically significantly correlated with household solid waste management. Policymakers can use this baseline data to make a strategy for increasing awareness among the community people.

Purpose: The present study aimed to compare and analyze the sex-specific epidemiological, clinical characteristics, comorbidities, and other information of confirmed COVID-19 patients from the southeast region in Bangladesh for the first time. Methods: 385 lab-confirmed cases were studied out of a total of 2471 tested samples between June 5 and September 10, 2020. RT-PCR was used for COVID-19 identification and SPSS (version 25) for statistical data analysis. Results: We found that male patients were roughly affected compared to females patients (male 74.30% vs. female 25.7%) with an average age of 34.86 +/- 15.442 years, and B (+ve) blood group has been identified as a high-risk factor for COVID-19 infection. Workplace, local market, and bank were signified as sex-specific risk zone (p < 0.001). Pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were identified among the patients. Less than half of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the southeast region were asymptomatic (37.73%) and more prevalent among females than males (male vs. female: 36.84% vs. 40.51%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The findings may help health authorities and the government to take necessary steps for identification and isolation, treatment, prevention, and control of this global pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, Coronavirus disease, Epidemiological, Clinical features, Asymptomatic, Comorbidities

Background Breast cancer (BCa) is a leading cause of mortality among women in Bangladesh. Many young women in Bangladesh have poor knowledge about breast cancer screening, including risk factors, warning signs/symptoms, diagnosis and early detection. We investigated awareness about breast cancer risk factors as a screening tool among women at the Sheikh Hasina Medical College (SHMC) of Tangail district in Bangladesh. Methods A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect data via a structured questionnaire from SHMC during the period of February to December 2019. A total of 1,007 participants (aged 33.47 (±12.37 years)) was considered for data analysis. Results Of the 1,007 women, about 50% were knowledgeable about the risk factors. Pain in the breast was identified as the most commonly warning sign/symptom of breast cancer. Only 32.2% of respondents knew at least one breast cancer screening method. The mean knowledge was scored 3.43 ± 2.25 out of a total possible score of 8. Awareness of BCa was associated with residence, family history of breast cancer, marital, literacy and socio-economic status (p <0.05). Only 14.7% of women who knew about BSE said they were conducting regular breast self-examination. Unmarried women (aOR: 2.971; 95% CI: 1.108–7.968) were more likely to have performed BSE compared to married women (p <0.05). Conclusion Although most participants were aware of breast cancer; knowledge about risk factors, warning signs/symptoms, early diagnosis and detection was relatively poor. Knowledge about performing BSE was particularly low. This highlights the importance of increasing awareness about breast cancer risk factors and early detection among young women in Bangladesh.