Availability of aqua drugs and their uses in semi intensive culture farms at Patuakhali district in Bangladesh

A survey was undertaken to examine the accessibility of aqua-drugs and their applications in the semi-intensive aquaculture farms in Patuakhali district. A total of 83 stakeholders were selected and data gathered from aqua-medicine stores, representatives of different pharmaceuticals and semi-intensive aqua-farms owners via questionnaire interviews. PRA tools like focused group discussion, cross-checking, and key informant interviews were also used. Results show that 78% of farmers conduct polyculture and rest executes monoculture. Among the total fish farmer majority, 38% used lime for pond preparation and water quality management and potash used by 44% farmer as a disinfectant. For increasing dissolve-oxygen Oxy-rich (26%) was vastly used while 28% of farmers don’t use any oxygen supplier in their pond. However, 14% of farmers use commercial Megavit-Aqua growth promoters and 14% farmer used probiotics. For disease control, 52% and 14% of farmers use Renamycin and Renamox respectively due to its easy availability and affordability compared to probiotics. Several issues have been reported due to improper use of aquatic medications, such as lack of information about chemical use, sufficient dosage, form of application and indiscriminate use of antibiotics. This research result will help the policymaker to understand the requirement of fishers for healthy and sustainable aquaculture practices

Pervasiveness of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract of some selected fish species from Turag River alongside the capital city of Bangladesh

Microplastics (MPs) are synthetic contaminants that have received global attention due to their ubiquitous occurrence, extreme durability, and capacity to harm ecosystems and human health. This study investigated the occurrence of MPs in three fish species (Channa striata, Puntius sophore and Anabas testudineus) collected from two locations (Ashulia Bridge and Mirpur Road) of the Turag River, which flows alongside the Dhaka city, Bangladesh. MPs abundance (items/individuals) was highest in Channa striata (3.8 ± 0.6) from the Ashulia Bridge area and lowest in Puntius sophore (1.8 ± 0.4) from the Mirpur Road area. Fiber was found to be the most dominant (89–93%) form of MPs followed by fragments (21–35%), films (0–26%) and foams (0–5%). The dominant color of MPs was blue (69–83%), then red (20–33%), black (11–14%), green (8–20%), and purple (6–8%). The majority (56–71%) of the MPs assessed were <0.5 mm in size, followed by 0.5–1.0 mm (29–33%) and 1–5 mm (38–53%). ATR-FTIR examination revealed three specific polymer varieties - PP (40%), PS (30%) and LDPE (30%). The results of this study provided a baseline of MPs pollution in one of the major protein sources freshwater fishes and raised concern on public health particularly who consume fishes from the urban waterways

Vitamin E supplementation in diet ameliorates growth of Nile tilapia by upgrading muscle health

Vitamin E (VE), an important lipid-soluble antioxidant, has great influence on growth and maintenance in animal. The effects of VE supplemented diet on growth and feed usage in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was investigated in this study. Three formulated diets containing VE (0, 50 and 100 mg/kg) were fed to Nile tilapia (3.56 ± 0.16 g) in glass aquaria maintaining three replicate groups for 56 days (8 weeks). Survival, growth performance including weight gain, percent weight gain, and specific growth rate (WG, % WG, and SGR), and feed utilization comprising protein efficiency ratio and feed conversion ratio (PER and FCR) were calculated. Hemato-biochemical indices including hemoglobin level (Hb), white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and glucose level were analyzed. In addition, muscle morphology was examined after completion of the experiment. At the end of the trial, WG, %WG, SGR, FCR and PER increased significantly which had dietary VE supplimentation. However, no distinct changes were observed in Hb level, RBC count, WBC count and glucose level among these different dietary groups. Dietary VE treatments significantly upgraded the muscle fiber diameter and lowered the intra-muscle gap. Moreover, quantity of hyperplastic muscle fiber as well as nucleus also significantly enhanced by VE. Morphological structure of muscle characterized by a huge proportion of hyperplastic muscle that may be supposed to contribute the enhanced growth of Nile tilapia receiving VE supplemented diet. Therefore these results suggested that VE incorporation into the feed can be effective to improve the feed efficiency and maximize the growth of O. niloticus

Dried fish more prone to microplastics contamination over fresh fish – Higher potential of trophic transfer to human body

Globally, microplastics (MPs) contamination in aquatic organisms is emerging as an alarming phenomenon. In the present study, we investigated MPs in three commercially important fishes (Bombay duck Harpadon nehereus, ribbon fish Trichiurus lepturus and hairfin anchovy Setipinna phasa) in fresh and dried conditions collected from two sites (Chattogram and Kuakata) of the Bay of Bengal. It was evident that fresh T. lepturus ingested highest amount of MPs through the gills (6.41 mps/g) from Chattogram followed by in the gastrointestinal tract, GIT (6.20 mps/g) and in the muscle (1.20 mps/g) from Kuakata. Among the fresh fishes, H. nehereus from Kuakata accumulated highest amount of MPs (0.21 mps/g), while S. phasa from Kuakata contained the least amount of MPs (0.06 mps/g). On the other hand, among the dried fishes, T. lepturus from Kuakata contained highest amount of MPs (46.00 mps/g), while S. phasa from Kuakata retained lowest amount of MPs (2.17 mps/g). Strangely, all the dried fishes showed significantly higher amount of MPs compared to fresh fishes from both the locations. Fiber was the most dominant type of shape of MPs which accounted 66 %, followed by fragment (27.38 %), microbeads (3.59 %), film (1.48 %), foam (1.31 %) and pellet (0.25 %). Size-wise, the major portion (39.66 %) of MPs was present to be in size range less than 0.5 mm followed by 37.67 % in the size range of 0.5–1.0 mm group and rest 22.67 % within 1.0–5.0 mm. Red (41.55 %) colored MPs was the most prominent, followed by brown (22.11 %), blue (16.32 %), pink (11.69 %), purple (5.10 %), and green (2.25 %). Among polymer types, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was the most common (38 %), followed by polystyrene (PS-22 %), polyvinyl chloride (PVC-16 %), polyamide (PA-13 %) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA-9 %). The present study confirms high occurrence of MPs in the dried fishes over the fresh fishes from the Bay of Bengal, with high potential of trophic transfer to the human body

Discharge against medical advice in Special Care Newborn Unit in Chattogram, Bangladesh: Prevalence, causes and predictors.

IntroductionDischarge against medical advice (DAMA) is an unexpected event for patients and healthcare personnel. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of DAMA in neonates along with characteristics of neonates who got DAMA and, causes and predictors of DAMA.Methods and findingsThis case-control study was carried out in Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) at Chittagong Medical College Hospital from July 2017 to December 2017. Clinical and demographic characteristics of neonates with DAMA were compared with that of discharged neonates. The causes of DAMA were identified by a semi-structured questionnaire. Predictors of DAMA were determined using a logistic regression model with a 95% confidence interval. A total of 6167 neonates were admitted and 1588 got DAMA. Most of the DAMA neonates were male (61.3%), term (74.7%), outborn (69.8%), delivered vaginally (65.7%), and had standard weight at admission (54.3%). A significant relationship (p ConclusionsIdentification of predictors and reasons behind DAMA may provide opportunities to improve the hospital environment and service related issues so that such vulnerable neonates can complete their treatment. We should ensure better communication with parents, provide provision for mothers' corner, especially for outborn neonates, maintain a standard ratio of neonates and healthcare providers, and adopt specific DAMA policy by the hospital authority

Map of Chattogram division.

IntroductionDischarge against medical advice (DAMA) is an unexpected event for patients and healthcare personnel. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of DAMA in neonates along with characteristics of neonates who got DAMA and, causes and predictors of DAMA.Methods and findingsThis case-control study was carried out in Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) at Chittagong Medical College Hospital from July 2017 to December 2017. Clinical and demographic characteristics of neonates with DAMA were compared with that of discharged neonates. The causes of DAMA were identified by a semi-structured questionnaire. Predictors of DAMA were determined using a logistic regression model with a 95% confidence interval. A total of 6167 neonates were admitted and 1588 got DAMA. Most of the DAMA neonates were male (61.3%), term (74.7%), outborn (69.8%), delivered vaginally (65.7%), and had standard weight at admission (54.3%). A significant relationship (p ConclusionsIdentification of predictors and reasons behind DAMA may provide opportunities to improve the hospital environment and service related issues so that such vulnerable neonates can complete their treatment. We should ensure better communication with parents, provide provision for mothers’ corner, especially for outborn neonates, maintain a standard ratio of neonates and healthcare providers, and adopt specific DAMA policy by the hospital authority.</div

Data July to December.

IntroductionDischarge against medical advice (DAMA) is an unexpected event for patients and healthcare personnel. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of DAMA in neonates along with characteristics of neonates who got DAMA and, causes and predictors of DAMA.Methods and findingsThis case-control study was carried out in Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) at Chittagong Medical College Hospital from July 2017 to December 2017. Clinical and demographic characteristics of neonates with DAMA were compared with that of discharged neonates. The causes of DAMA were identified by a semi-structured questionnaire. Predictors of DAMA were determined using a logistic regression model with a 95% confidence interval. A total of 6167 neonates were admitted and 1588 got DAMA. Most of the DAMA neonates were male (61.3%), term (74.7%), outborn (69.8%), delivered vaginally (65.7%), and had standard weight at admission (54.3%). A significant relationship (p ConclusionsIdentification of predictors and reasons behind DAMA may provide opportunities to improve the hospital environment and service related issues so that such vulnerable neonates can complete their treatment. We should ensure better communication with parents, provide provision for mothers’ corner, especially for outborn neonates, maintain a standard ratio of neonates and healthcare providers, and adopt specific DAMA policy by the hospital authority.</div

Disease profile of DAMA.

IntroductionDischarge against medical advice (DAMA) is an unexpected event for patients and healthcare personnel. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of DAMA in neonates along with characteristics of neonates who got DAMA and, causes and predictors of DAMA.Methods and findingsThis case-control study was carried out in Special Care Newborn Unit (SCANU) at Chittagong Medical College Hospital from July 2017 to December 2017. Clinical and demographic characteristics of neonates with DAMA were compared with that of discharged neonates. The causes of DAMA were identified by a semi-structured questionnaire. Predictors of DAMA were determined using a logistic regression model with a 95% confidence interval. A total of 6167 neonates were admitted and 1588 got DAMA. Most of the DAMA neonates were male (61.3%), term (74.7%), outborn (69.8%), delivered vaginally (65.7%), and had standard weight at admission (54.3%). A significant relationship (p ConclusionsIdentification of predictors and reasons behind DAMA may provide opportunities to improve the hospital environment and service related issues so that such vulnerable neonates can complete their treatment. We should ensure better communication with parents, provide provision for mothers’ corner, especially for outborn neonates, maintain a standard ratio of neonates and healthcare providers, and adopt specific DAMA policy by the hospital authority.</div

Cause behind DAMA according to care-givers’ response.

Cause behind DAMA according to care-givers’ response.</p