Classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has spread to Bangladesh since early March of 2020, and people are getting daily updates from the social and electronic media. We aimed at assessing the prevalence of anxiety among Bangladeshi people during the pandemic in connection with social media exposure (SME) and electronic media exposure (EME). For this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 880 participants by a self-administered online-based questionnaire relating personal characteristics, self-rate health (SRH), SME, and EME with anxiety. Findings show that around half of the surveyed population experienced a spike of anxiety (49.1%) during the pandemic, ten times higher than the national anxiety rate in 2019. The participants with an increased SME of over four hours per day experienced a higher level of anxiety than individuals with < = 2 hours exposure to social media. Similarly, the anxiety was higher among people with fair/bad SRH compared to individuals with excellent SRH. It is highly recommended to develop active surveillance and effective monitoring systems to reduce the spread of misinformation from both social and electronic media to improve the state of mental health conditions during the pandemic.

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Background: The concentration of poverty and adverse environmental circumstances within slums, particularly those in the cities of developing countries, are an increasingly important concern for both public health policy initiatives and related programs in other sectors. However, there is a dearth of information on the population-level implications of slum life for human health. This manuscript describes the 2005 Census and Mapping of Slums (CMS), which used geographic information systems (GIS) tools and digital satellite imagery combined with more traditional fieldwork methodologies, to obtain detailed, up-to-date and new information about slum life in all slums of six major cities in Bangladesh (including Dhaka).

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BackgroundMore than 95% of total malaria cases in Bangladesh are reported from the 13 high endemic districts. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the two most abundant malaria parasites in the country. To improve the detection and management of malaria patients, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has been using rapid diagnostic test (RDT) in the endemic areas. A study was conducted to establish a SYBR Green-based modified real-time PCR assay as a gold standard to evaluate the performance of four commercially-available malaria RDTs, along with the classical gold standard- microscopy.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 338 febrile patients referred for the diagnosis of malaria by the attending physician at MatirangaUpazila Health Complex (UHC) from May 2009 to August 2010. Paracheck RDT and microscopy were performed at the UHC. The blood samples were preserved in EDTA tubes. A SYBR Green-based real-time PCR assay was performed and evaluated. The performances of the remaining three RDTs (Falcivax, Onsite Pf and Onsite Pf/Pv) were also evaluated against microscopy and real-time PCR using the stored blood samples.ResultIn total, 338 febrile patients were enrolled in the study. Malaria parasites were detected in 189 (55.9%) and 188 (55.6%) patients by microscopy and real-time PCR respectively. Among the RDTs, the highest sensitivity for the detection of P. falciparum (including mixed infection) was obtained by Paracheck [98.8%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 95.8-99.9] and Falcivax (97.6%, 95% CI 94.1-99.4) compared to microscopy and real-time PCR respectively. Paracheck and Onsite Pf/Pv gave the highest specificity (98.8%, 95% CI 95.7-99.9) compared to microscopy and Onsite Pf/Pv (98.8, 95% CI 95.8-99.9) compared to real-time PCR respectively for the detection of P. falciparum. On the other hand Falcivax and Onsite Pf/Pv had equal sensitivity (90.5%, 95% CI 69.6-98.8) and almost 100% specificity compared to microscopy for the detection of P. vivax. However, compared to real-time PCR assay RDTs and microscopy gave low sensitivity (76.9%, 95% CI 56.4-91) in detecting of P. vivax although a very high specificity was obtained (99- 100%).ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that the SYBR Green-based real-time PCR assay could be used as an alternative gold standard method in a reference setting. Commercially-available RDTs used in the study are quite sensitive and specific in detecting P. falciparum, although their sensitivity in detecting P. vivax was not satisfactory compared to the real-time PCR assay.

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Introduction: Utilization of Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs) at birth is low (20%) in Bangladesh. Birth attendance by SBAs is considered as the "single most important factor in preventing maternal deaths". This paper examined the practices and determinants of delivery by SBAs in rural Bangladesh.

BackgroundMalaria remains a significant health problem in Bangladesh affecting 13 of 64 districts. The risk of malaria is variable across the endemic areas and throughout the year. A better understanding of the spatial and temporal patterns in malaria risk and the determinants driving the variation are crucial for the appropriate targeting of interventions under the National Malaria Control and Prevention Programme.MethodsNumbers of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax malaria cases reported by month in 2007, across the 70 endemic thanas (sub-districts) in Bangladesh, were assembled from health centre surveillance reports. Bayesian Poisson regression models of incidence were constructed, with fixed effects for monthly rainfall, maximum temperature and elevation, and random effects for thanas, with a conditional autoregressive prior spatial structure.ResultsThe annual incidence of reported cases was 34.0 and 9.6 cases/10,000 population for P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively and the population of the 70 malaria-endemic thanas was approximately 13.5 million in 2007. Incidence of reported cases for both types of malaria was highest in the mountainous south-east of the country (the Chittagong Hill Tracts). Models revealed statistically significant positive associations between the incidence of reported P. vivax and P. falciparum cases and rainfall and maximum temperature.ConclusionsThe risk of P. falciparum and P. vivax was spatially variable across the endemic thanas of Bangladesh and also highly seasonal, suggesting that interventions should be targeted and timed according to the risk profile of the endemic areas. Rainfall, temperature and elevation are major factors driving the spatiotemporal patterns of malaria in Bangladesh.