Search

Aim: To assess the prevalence of intestinal helminth infections and associated risk factors among people living in urban slums in Bangladesh., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across three clusters: Dhaka, Sylhet and Chattogram. In total, 360 individuals divided into two groups (school-aged children and adults) provided stool samples and completed a semi-structured questionnaire. Parasitological assessment was performed using the formol-ether concentration technique., Results: Overall, 31.7% (114/360) of participants had helminthiasis, with 13.3% (48/360) having mixed infections. Among the infected participants, school-aged children had a higher rate of infection (41.7%, 75/180) compared with adults (21.7%, 39/180). Ascaris lumbricoides was the predominant parasite, followed by hookworms, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis nana, Enterobius vermicularis and Rhabditis sp. Parasitic infections were significantly associated with type of latrine used, direct exposure to soil, open defaecation, and presence of free-roaming animals., Conclusion: Despite continuous efforts to control helminthiasis, a substantial proportion of the study participants were infected with intestinal helminths. Ignorance of the roles of the environment and animals was influential, and had a negative impact on existing control interventions. An integrated public health and veterinary public health approach is required for sustainable control of intestinal helminthiasis., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Background: Current COVID-19 researches suggest that both general population and health-care providers (HCPs) are at risk of elevated psychological sufferings including suicidality. However, suicidality has not been addressed properly, although mental health problems are studied globally. Besides, the extreme fear of COVID-19 infection is being existed among the Bangladeshi HCPs, that is reported by a recent patients' suicide because of HCPs treatment negligence., Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was administered through the social media platforms. A total 3,388 respondents took part in the survey (mean age 30.1 ± 6.4 years) among them 834 were frontline HCPs (30.7 ± 5.6 years). The measures included socio-demographics, PPE-related and patient-care related information and a question concerned with the COVID-19 suicidal behavior., Results: About 6.1% of the total participants had suicidal behavior, with no detectable differences within the groups (i.e., general population and HCPs). Regression analysis showed that being female, being divorced, and having no child were emerged as independent predictors for suicidality. There was no significant association between the PPE-related or patient-care related variables and suicidal behavior of the HCPs. Majority of the participants sometimes had fear of death although no significant relation of the factor was found with suicidality., Limitations: The study can be limited because of its nature (i.e., cross-sectional self-reporting online survey) and not considering non-COVID-19 related suicide risk factors etc., Conclusions: The present findings identified the substantial proportion of the HCPs and general population had COVID 19 related suicidal behavior. It can be used to advocate a large-scale suicide safety plan using a multidisciplinary approach herein., (© 2020 The Author(s).)