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During COVID-19, female informal workers living in urban informal settlements in Bangladesh have faced greater challenges in re-entering the labour market than their male counterparts. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study, which has explored how the pre-existing socio-economic constraints around gender norms, gender roles, occupational sex-segregation, lack of education and skills, informality and restricted mobility have made the re-entry process extremely difficult for these workers during COVID-19 in Dhaka city. The paper also illustrates that these workers have adopted strategies catered for short-lasting crises to cope with the challenges arisen from their struggle to secure livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Bangladesh experienced its largest dengue epidemic in 2019. Our objective was to investigate the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the hospital-admitted dengue patients during this epidemic. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 369 adult dengue patients admitted to two tertiary care hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from June to September 2019. The disease severity was determined according to the WHO's 2009 classification. Results. The average age of the patients was 33.3 (SD 14) years with a predominance of men. Almost 10% developed severe dengue (plasma leakage 67%, clinical bleeding 25%, and organ involvement 25%). Fever, headache, retro-orbital pain, diarrhea, and warning signs such as abdominal pain, clinical fluid accumulation, and persistent vomiting were the most common clinical presentations. Thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, elevated HCT levels, and ALT/AST were common laboratory findings. Conclusions. Severe dengue was mostly attributable to plasma leakage with warning signs, especially abdominal pain, clinical fluid accumulation, persistent vomiting, and altered hematological parameters which might assist in the early prediction of severe dengue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue has become a major public health threat in Bangladesh since 2000, when the first outbreak was reported. Each outbreak has distinct characteristics, and thus, the report of the outbreak helps to understand the disease process and subsequent clinical management of these patients. On that ground, the study was designed to sketch the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of the 2018 dengue outbreak in Bangladesh. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in one of the largest public medical college hospitals and a single private hospital located in the southern and northern parts of the megacity of the country. A total of 297 confirmed dengue cases were assessed with a preformed pretested questionnaire. Clinico-epidemiological and laboratory parameters were reported along with sociodemographic details. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20. Results: Male patients were predominantly affected by dengue infection. The mean age of the patients was 31.24 ± 13.99 (SD) years, with a range from 2 to 85 years. Eighty-two percent of patients reported from the Dhaka metropolitan city. The highest percentage of cases (37.1%) was isolated from Bansree, Dhaka city, followed by Rampura (21.4%) and Khilgaon (6.2%). In addition to common symptoms, e.g., fever (90.6%), headache (90.6%), chills (81.8%), anorexia and vomiting (76.4%), backache, and redness of the eyes were two prominent symptoms that affected more than two-thirds of the study population. On the other hand, less common symptoms, such as cough, abdominal pain, and respiratory distress, were present in 39.7%, 33.7%, and 15.5% of patients, respectively. Overall, 17.6% of patients were hypotensive during admission, with a mean systolic blood pressure of 107.65 ± 18.17 (SD) mmHg. Other prominent signs were dehydration (80.5%) and rash (33%). Conclusion: This outbreak was especially characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms, which were predominant along with other typical features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]