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Introduction: Cholera remains a significant public health concern in many parts of the world, particularly in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene. Bangladesh and other impoverished nations have been severely affected by cholera outbreaks, especially in areas with a high population density. In order to mitigate the spread of cholera, oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) are recommended as a prophylactic measure. In May 2018, 775,666 of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) in the registered and makeshift camps and 103,605 of the residents in the host community received two doses of OCV Shanchol TM in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, because the conditions in the area favored the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases. This study aimed to assess the coverage of OCV among the FDMN and the host community in Cox's Bazar., Methods: In August 2018, we enrolled 4,240 respondents for this study following the "World Health Organization (WHO) Vaccination Coverage Cluster Surveys: Reference Manual (2018)." The coverage survey was conducted with three strata of the population: the host community from the Teknaf Upazila, the registered camp, and the makeshift camp from the Ukhia Upazila. We collected information regarding OCV coverage, demographic characteristics, and knowledge and behaviors of people toward the vaccine. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics., Results: According to our study, the overall OCV coverage was 85%, with 68% in the host community, 91% in the registered camp, and 98% in the makeshift camp. The lower coverage in the host community was due to residents unaware of the vaccination campaign, the unavailability of vaccines, and unaware where to go for vaccination., Discussion: Our findings demonstrate that the OCV campaign in the FDMN camps was successful, reaching over 90% coverage, while coverage in the host community was much lower. In order to make sure that OCV vaccination efforts are reaching the target population and having the desired impact, our study emphasizes the need to inform the target population of when and where to get vaccinated., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Qayum, Billah, Sarker, Alamgir, Nurunnahar, Khan, Salim Uzzaman, Henderson, Shirin and Flora.)

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in females in Bangladesh. This is caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Multiple sex partners, HIV infection, smoking, using birth control pills, and having more than three children are risk factors of cervical cancer. Hence, female sex workers have a high prevalence of infection with high risk HPV genotypes which eventually may causes cervical cancer. Unfortunately, the status of knowledge, attitude and practice among female sex workers regarding cervical cancer is mostly unknown. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of women living in Daulatdia brothel regarding cervical cancer and its screening.  Methods: A cross-sectional knowledge-practice survey was conducted among 400 female sex workers in Daulatdia Brothel, Rajbari District, Bangladesh. The women’s total score on knowledge, and practice were categorized as sufficient or insufficient. We calculated frequencies and used binary logistic regression to describe and assess the association between scores and socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. Results: Most sex workers (61%) were between 29 to 35 years, married at 13 to 15 years of age, and divorced (91%). Middle aged sex workers were more likely have a VIA test  than women in the 29 to 35 years group (18%, OR:5.2; CI: 2.0, 13.5). Less than half of the studied women (40%) had sufficient knowledge regarding cervical cancer and 12% knew that infection by HPV is a risk factor. Respondents with primary and secondary education were more likely to have sufficient knowledge than the illiterate (42%, OR: 1.32; CI: 0.82, 2.12). Practices to prevent cervical cancer were very poor. Nearly all women (99%) would recommend other women to have a VIA test. There were only 7% who had a VIA test and 2% were vaccinated against HPV. Unmarried sex workers were more likely to take action to prevent cervical cancer. Sex workers educated up to the primary level were more likely to have a VIA or other tests than the illiterate sex workers (10%, OR: 1.3; CI: 0.6, 3.2). Conclusion: Sex workers in Daulatdia brothel were less knowledgeable about cervical cancer and less likely to have a VIA test and poor practices towards preventing cervical cancer. The sex workers underutilized the VIA test and HPV vaccine.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a global public health concern. DM has been increasing alarmingly among the young people and childhood-onset has now become an emerging issue worldwide. Unlike other chronic diseases, DM requires constant and active attention of the patients, sometimes of their family members for successful management of this disease. Knowledge, attitude, and practices make significant differences at the population level, which largely depend on socioeconomic status, area of residence, level of education, and other socio-demographic attributes. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among secondary school students in grades 6 through 10 attending schools in 18 districts of Bangladesh. A total of 2009 students were enrolled for the study from the selected schools and madrasas from Bengali, English, and Arabic medium. The majority of responders (79.34%) reported that they had heard of diabetes, however, only 45% knew that diabetes can cause blood glucose levels to rise. Among different therapeutic options, only 15% of students had heard the name of metformin, while 56.2% were familiar with insulin. English medium students were significantly more likely to have good knowledge than the Bangla medium students (19.31%, OR: 1. 44; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.95). Respondents of semi-urban (19.66%, OR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.36) and urban (18.47%, OR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.86) areas were more likely to have good knowledge than rural areas. Of the respondents, 20.61% did not know of any diabetic treatment options. Only a small percentage of students (11%) attended any diabetes education classes and 10.7% of students followed any recommended diabetes prevention methods. Knowledge, attitude, and practice related to diabetes were found to have been influenced by socioeconomic factors, societal practices, and behavioral patterns. This is the first nationwide research study in Bangladesh among secondary school students to study knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to diabetes. With a focus on Bangladesh's youthful population, this study sought to provide an informational framework that can be supportive for effective intervention to increase knowledge of diabetes and its implications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Akter, Rashid, Alam, Lipi, Qayum, Nurunnahar and Mannan.)

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women in the world. Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is a common screening test for cervical cancer in Bangladesh. This study will assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards cervical cancer and screening among women residing in Dhaka district. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 956 women aged 30 years and above in Dhaka. The women’s score on knowledge, attitude and practice were categorized as sufficient or insufficient. We calculated frequencies and used binary logistic regression to describe and assess the association between scores and socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. Results: Most (87%) respondent knew about cervical cancer and 13% knew that HPV is a risk factor for cervical cancer. Women who had sufficient knowledge were more likely to test VIA than those who had insufficient knowledge (39%, OR: 2.5; CI: 1.6, 2.8). Most (92%) would advise other women to have a VIA test. However, only 26% had a VIA test and 2% were vaccinated in private health care facilities for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Women who had sufficient attitude were equally likely to test VIA than those who had insufficient attitude. The VIA was underutilized because of low privacy during examination, unaware that VIA screened for cervical cancer, belief that they must pay for the test, and nurses performed examination. Conclusion: Women were knowledgeable about cervical cancer and likely to have a VIA test. However, the VIA test in underutilized and HPV vaccine coverage was low.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly became a global pandemic. This study aimed to investigate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) -associated epidemiology and clinical outcomes in Bangladesh in order to understand the future course of the COVID-19 pandemic and develop approaches to prevention. A cross-sectional study based on retrospective interviews was conducted on 1021 individuals with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted in six different hospitals in Bangladesh and who recovered 4 weeks before the interview date. Of the 1021 patients, 111 (10.9%) were asymptomatic and the other 910 (89.1%) were symptomatic. Higher prevalence of COVID-19 was found in the male population (75%), in cohorts with B-positive blood group (36.3%) and in the 31-40 years age group. Common symptoms observed in our study participants were fever (72.4%), cough (55.9%), loss of taste (40.7%) and body ache (40%); whereas among the biochemical parameters, neutrophil count (46.4%), D-dimer (46.1%) and ferritin (37.9%) levels were elevated. Among the recovered individuals, short-term outcomes including pains and aches (31.8%), weakened attention span (24.4%) and anxiety or depression (23.1%) were also significantly prevalent in the symptomatic cases with comorbidities. Our study showed that in Bangladesh, adult males aged between 31 and 40 years were more vulnerable to developing COVID-19. It also indicated a rising trend of asymptomatic cases as the pandemic progressed. As a consequence, deployment of interventions to curb further spread of community infection is necessary to avoid grave outcomes of COVID-19 in Bangladesh., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Background: Bangladesh hosts more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The low health immunity, lifestyle, access to good healthcare services, and social-security cause this population to be at risk of far more direct effects of COVID-19 than the host population. Therefore, evidence-based forecasting of the COVID-19 burden is vital in this regard. In this study, we aimed to forecast the COVID-19 obligation among the Rohingya refugees of Bangladesh to keep up with the disease outbreak's pace, health needs, and disaster preparedness. Methodology and Findings: To estimate the possible consequences of COVID-19 in the Rohingya camps of Bangladesh, we used a modified Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) transmission model. All of the values of different parameters used in this model were from the Bangladesh Government's database and the relevant emerging literature. We addressed two different scenarios, i.e., the best-fitting model and the good-fitting model with unique consequences of COVID-19. Our best fitting model suggests that there will be reasonable control over the transmission of the COVID-19 disease. At the end of December 2020, there will be only 169 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Rohingya refugee camps. The average basic reproduction number (R0) has been estimated to be 0.7563. Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that, due to the extensive precautions from the Bangladesh government and other humanitarian organizations, the coronavirus disease will be under control if the maintenance continues like this. However, detailed and pragmatic preparedness should be adopted for the worst scenario.