Undernutrition and morbidity profile of exclusively breastfeeding children: A cross-sectional study

Background: Undernutrition is common and has been recognized as a public health problem in Bangladesh. It has devastating effects on any population as it increases morbidity children and reduces the quality of life of all affected. The study was done with the objective to assess the undernutrition and morbidity profile in children who have completed exclusive breastfeeding. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, which was carried out among children aged 6–12 completed months attending a tertiary level hospital in Bangladesh. A total of 251 children were selected through convenient sampling from January to December 2015. Nutritional assessment was done in terms of underweight, stunting, and wasting. Results: One hundred and forty-three (57.0%) were boys while 108 (43.0%) were girls. The prevalence of undernutrition (Z-score ≤−2) was observed in 11.2%, 16.3%, and 12.0% based on stunting, underweight, and wasting. Among 251 children, 16.7% were not suffering any diseases, whereas majorities (69.7%) were suffering from single disease and 13.5% were suffering from multiple diseases. Cough and fever (55.0%), pneumonia (18.3%), measles (9.9%), and diarrhea (8.3%) were the most common cause of infectious morbidity observed in children. Conclusions: The prevalence of undernutrition was high in the study population, and it continues to be a public health burden because of its major effect on morbidity and impairment of intellectual and physical development in long-term. Increasing the practice of exclusive breastfeeding, the introduction of timely complementary feeding, and standard case management of morbidities would be beneficial to combat the problem of undernutrition

Rabies control in Bangladesh and prediction of human rabies cases by 2030: a One Health approach

Background Bangladesh is making progress toward achieving zero dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030, a global goal set in 2015. Methods Drawing from multiple datasets, including patient immunisation record books and mass dog vaccination (MDV) databases, we conducted a comprehensive analysis between 2011 and 2023 to understand the effectiveness of rabies control programmes and predict human rabies cases in Bangladesh by 2030 using time-series forecasting models. We also compared rabies virus sequences from GenBank in Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. Findings The estimated dog population in Bangladesh was determined to be 1,668,140, with an average dog population density of 12.83 dogs/km2 (95% CI 11.14–14.53) and a human-to-dog ratio of 86.70 (95% CI 76.60–96.80). The MDV campaign has led to the vaccination of an average of 21,295 dogs (95% CI 18,654–23,935) per district annually out of an estimated 26,065 dogs (95% CI 22,898–29,230). A declining trend in predicted and observed human rabies cases has been identified, suggesting that Bangladesh is poised to make substantial progress towards achieving the ‘Zero by 30’ goal, provided the current trajectory continues. The phylogenetic analysis shows that rabies viruses in Bangladesh belong to the Arctic-like-1 group, which differs from those in Bhutan despite sharing a common ancestor. Interpretation Bangladesh's One Health approach demonstrated that an increase in MDV and anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) resulted in a decline in the relative risk of human rabies cases, indicating that eliminating dog-mediated human rabies could be achievable. Funding The study was supported by the Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Division of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh