ObjectiveProper breastfeeding and weaning practices are effective ways of reducing childhood morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to find out breastfeeding and weaning practices among infants of six months to one year in urban slums of Bahawalpur city. By evaluating the knowledge and attitude of lactating mothers regarding their child feeding habits, modifications and specific interventions can be implemented to improve the breastfeeding and weaning practices of the area.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the Shahdrah slums of Bahawalpur City after getting approval from the institutional review board of Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur. The survey was conducted from April 10, 2017 to May 30, 2017. One hundred mothers of infants aging six months to one year of age were interviewed. Mothers filled a customized questionnaire, consisting of questions about logistic variables, breastfeeding, and weaning. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA).ResultsThe mean age of the women was 24+2 years. It was found that 74% (n=74) of the mothers had one to three children, 85% (n=85) of the mothers were breastfeeding their infants at the time of the study, 40% (n=40) of the mothers were illiterate, 16% (n=16) of the mothers had secondary education, and 87% (n=87) of the mothers were nonworking women. Out of 85 women who were breastfeeding, 95% (n=80) of the women were 18-23 years of age. We found that 57% (n=57) of the infants were six to nine months old and the remaining 43% (n=43) were up to 12 months of age. Regarding the initiation of breastfeeding, 60% of the females started soon after delivery, and 32% started within two to seven days. We found that 70% (9/13) of the working women and 87.4% (76/87) of the non-working women were breastfeeding. The study found that 92.3% (12/13) of the working women and 88.5% (77/87) of the non-working women were weaning.ConclusionA majority of the mothers were breastfeeding and weaning their babies. The factors documented were young age, low parity, no working status, and nuclear families. The commonly used feeding materials were cereals, banana, rice, and bread. No side effects of weaning were observed. Weaning was associated by late age, parity, non-working status, educational status of father, and nuclear families.

Background: Globally, noroviruses are recognized as an important cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE), but data from low and middle-income countries are limited. Aims: To examine the epidemiology and strain diversity of norovirus infections among children hospitalized for AGE in Bangladesh. Methods: We implemented active surveillance of children <5 years of age hospitalized with AGE at 8 geographically dispersed tertiary care hospitals in Bangladesh from July 2012 to June 2016. We tested random samples of AGE cases stratified by site and age group for norovirus by real-time RT-PCR. Noro-positive specimens were genotyped. Coinfection with rotavirus was assessed based on prior EIA testing. Results: We enrolled 5622 total AGE cases, of which 1008 were tested for norovirus. Total of 137 (14%) AGE cases tested positive for norovirus (range, 11%–17% by site). Most (94%) norovirus-associated hospitalizations were among children less than 2 years of age. Norovirus was detected year-round, with higher detection from March to June (20%–38%) and November to January (9%–18%). Genogroup II (GII) noroviruses were detected in 96% of cases, and the most frequent genotypes were GII.4 Sydney [P4 New Orleans] (33%), GII.3 [P16] (20%), and GII.4 Sydney [P16] (11%). The proportion of norovirus-positive specimens was significantly greater among rotavirus-negative AGE patients compared with rotavirus-positive AGE patients (27% vs. 5%, P < 0.001). As measured by the Vesikari severity score, a similar proportion of norovirus and rotavirus positive AGE patients were considered severe (68% vs. 70%, P = 0.86). Conclusions: Norovirus is an important cause of AGE hospitalization in Bangladeshi children with most infections caused by GII viruses.

Background Globally, real‐time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (rRT‐PCR) is the reference detection technique for SARS‐CoV‐2, which is expensive, time consuming, and requires trained laboratory personnel. Thus, a cost‐effective, rapid antigen test is urgently needed. This study evaluated the performance of the rapid antigen tests (RATs) for SARS‐CoV‐2 compared with rRT‐PCR, considering different influencing factors. Methods We enrolled a total of 214 symptomatic individuals with known COVID‐19 status using rRT‐PCR. We collected and tested paired nasopharyngeal (NP) and nasal swab (NS) specimens (collected from same individual) using rRT‐PCR and RATs (InTec and SD Biosensor). We assessed the performance of RATs considering specimen types, viral load, the onset of symptoms, and presenting symptoms. Results We included 214 paired specimens (112 NP and 100 NS SARS‐CoV‐2 rRT‐PCR positive) to the analysis. For NP specimens, the average sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the RATs were 87.5%, 98.6%, and 92.8%, respectively, when compared with rRT‐PCR. While for NS, the overall kit performance was slightly lower than that of NP (sensitivity 79.0%, specificity 96.1%, and accuracy 88.3%). We observed a progressive decline in the performance of RATs with increased Ct values (decreased viral load). Moreover, the RAT sensitivity using NP specimens decreased over the time of the onset of symptoms. Conclusion The RATs showed strong performance under field conditions and fulfilled the minimum performance limit for rapid antigen detection kits recommended by World Health Organization. The best performance of the RATs can be achieved within the first week of the onset of symptoms with high viral load.

Human sapovirus, which causes acute gastroenteritis, is not well studied and poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the contribution of sapovirus in diarrhea, their clinical association, and genotypic diversity. Fecal specimens (n = 871) were randomly selected from diarrheal patients who attended International Centre for

The imbalance between modulation of the cell proliferation and apoptosis results in abnormal cell production which ultimately leads to the cancerous condition. During the 21st century, cancer is probably exceeded to infectious and other chronic diseases as the major cause of death in all countries. The increasing global prevalence ratio and a speedily rising population of cancer survivors focus on the ferocity of public health and economic challenges pretended this disease. This review summarizes the significant outcomes of dietary intake which can enhance the immune response and reduce the risk of cancer. The nutritional general mechanism of action to influence the immune function and the potential activity of anticancer immunotherapy are also studied. For several cancers immunotherapy has developed into standard treatment but considerably remains to be done to prolong the activity of its potential efficiency mainly to cancers that are unaffected within each indication. Although a higher consumption of plant foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and whole grains has been suggested for cancer prevention, it has been undecided what is the prime amount of ingestion of these foods and whether particular subtypes are valuable. Several million premature mortalities can be prevented if a high intake of plant foods is adopted globally. Furthermore, for reducing the risk of different types of cancers and slow down their development many dietary products have been proven advantageous. Keywords: Cancer, Immune system, Dietary items, Immunotherapy, Nutritional balance.