Assessment of epidemiological determinants of COVID-19 pandemic related to social and economic factors globally

The COVID-19 pandemic has manifested more than a health crisis and has severely impacted on social, economic, and development crises in the world. The relationship of COVID-19 with countries' economic and other demographic statuses is an important criterion with which to assess the impact of this current outbreak. Based on available data from the online platform, we tested the hypotheses of a country's economic status, population density, the median age of the population, and urbanization pattern influence on the test, attack, case fatality, and recovery rates of COVID-19. We performed correlation and multivariate multinomial regression analysis with relative risk ratio (RRR) to test the hypotheses. The correlation analysis showed that population density and test rate had a significantly negative association (r = -0.2384, p = 0.00). In contrast, the median age had a significant positive correlation with recovery rate (r = 0.4654, p = 0.00) and case fatality rate (r = 0.2847, p = 0.00). The urban population rate had a positive significant correlation with recovery rate (r = 0.1610, p = 0.04). Lower-middle-income countries had a negative significant correlation with case fatality rate (r= -0.3310, p = 0.04). The multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that low-income countries are more likely to have an increased risk of case fatality rate (RRR = 0.986, 95% Confidence Interval; CI = 0.97-1.00, p < 0.05) and recovery rate (RRR = 0.967, 95% CI = 0.95-0.98, p = 0.00). The lower-income countries are more likely to have a higher risk in case of attack rate (RRR = 0.981, 95% CI = 0.97-0.99, p = 0.00) and recovery rate (RRR = 0.971, 95% CI = 0.96-0.98, p = 0.00). Similarly, upper middle-income countries are more likely to have higher risk in case of attack rate (RRR = 0.988, 95% CI = 0.98-1.0, p = 0.01) and recovery rate (RRR = 0.978, 95% CI = 0.97-0.99, p = 0.00). The low- and lower-middle-income countries should invest more in health care services and implement adequate COVID-19 preventive measures to reduce the risk burden. We recommend a participatory, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach for responding to the socio-economic challenges of COVID-19 and ensuring more resilient and robust health systems to safeguard against preventable deaths and poverty by improving public health outcomes

Role of Environmental Temperature on the Attack rate and Case fatality rate of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic Betacoronavirus causing the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. More than twelve million COVID-19 cases and 500 thousand fatalities have been reported in 216 countries. Although SARS-CoV-2 originated in China, comparatively fewer people have been affected in other Asian countries than in Europe and the USA. This study examined the hypothesis that lower temperature may increase the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by comparing attack rate and case fatality rate (until 21 March 2020) to mean temperature in January–February 2020. The attack rate was highest in Luxembourg followed by Italy and Switzerland. There was a significant (p = 0.02) correlation between decreased attack rate and increased environmental temperature. The case fatality rate was highest in Italy followed by Iran and Spain. There was no significant correlation between the case fatality rate and temperature. This study indicates that lower temperature may increase SARS-CoV-2 transmission (measured as an increased attack rate), but there is no evidence that temperature affects the severity of the disease (measured as case fatality rate). However, there are clearly other factors that affect the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and many of these may be sensitive to interventions, e.g. through increased public awareness and public health response

Residual antimicrobial agents in food originating from animals

Background: The agricultural food products industry in Bangladesh depends on utilizing antimicrobials indiscriminately as growth promoters and for controlling infectious diseases. Thus, there is always a risk of antimicrobial agent accumulation in food sources that originate from agricultural production. Methods: In the present study, we collected data from published articles between January, 2013 and December, 2019 on antimicrobial residues in human food sources such as meat, milk, eggs, and fishes. Results: Liver contained the highest percentage of antimicrobial residues (74%; 95% CI: 59.66?85.37) against the in vitro enteric pathogen Escherichia coli in layer chickens. Similar results were demonstrated in liver (68%; 95% CI: 53.30?80.48) and kidney (66%, 95% CI: 51.23?78.79) of layer chickens against Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis. Amongst all antibiotics, the highest concentrations of ciprofloxacin were detected in kidney (48.57%; 95% CI: 31.38?66.01), followed by liver (47.56; 95% CI: 40.88?54.30) of broiler chickens. Ciprofloxacin was also present in liver (46.15%; 95% CI: 33.70?58.96) of layer chickens. The percentage of ciprofloxacin in thigh and breast meat in broiler bird were 41.54% (95% CI: 34.54?48.79) and 37.95% (95% CI: 31.11?45.15) respectively. Enrofloxacin was the second most dominant antimicrobial agent and was present in the liver of both types of poultry (Broiler and Layer chickens: 41.54%; 95% CI: 29.44?54.4 and 437.33%; 95% CI: 30.99?44.01). The prevalence rates of enrofloxacin in thigh and breast meat of broiler chickens were 24.10% (95% CI: 18.28?30.73) and 20.51% (95% CI: 15.08?26.87), respectively. Tetracycline, a commonly used antibiotic in livestock, was present in the liver (49.23%; 95% CI: 36.60?61.93) of layer chickens. In case of aquaculture food products, the highest amount of amoxicillin (683.2 mg/kg) was detected in Tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticus), followed by 584.4 mg/kg in climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) and 555.6 mg/kg in Rui fish (Labeo rohita). Among the five types of fishes, Rui fish (0.000515 mg/kg) contained the highest concentrations of chloramphenicol antibiotic residues. Conclusions: The presence of antimicrobial residues in meat, milk, egg, and fish is a serious public health threat due to the potential induction of antimicrobial resistance. It can negatively impact the food supply chain, especially with the current strain that it is already facing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the present study highlight the ongoing risk of residual antimicrobial agents in food of animal origin in Bangladesh and countries with similar practices. This can draw the attention of public health officials to propose plans to mitigate or stop this practice

Knowledge, attitude, and practices on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance among commercial poultry farmers in Bangladesh

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an emerging health issue globally, posing a threat to zoonotic pathogens and foodborne diseases. In Bangladesh, the poultry sector supplies the majority of the demand for animal-source protein. The irrational and excessive use of antimicrobials (AMU) has been observed in the poultry sector. The development of AMR is associated with many factors, including the knowledge and attitudes of poultry farmers. Therefore, AMR reduction requires intervention from all the stockholders, including the farmers who are considered as end users of antimicrobials. This current research conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of poultry farmers on AMU and AMR in Bangladesh. We determined the KAP of poultry farmers (broiler and layer farmers) of some selected districts of the country using a tested and paper-based questionnaire. The results demonstrated that most of the respondents have insufficient KAP regarding AMU and AMR. The respondents used a variety of antimicrobials primarily in the treatment of various diseases in poultry. One-third of the farmers did not seek antimicrobials from registered vets. Instead, they depended on others or themselves. The factor score analysis further revealed that the farmers&rsquo; demographic and socioeconomic variables were significant factors influencing the KAP. An adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that older farmers with 9&ndash;12 years of farming experience and graduate-level education, engaging in medium-sized layer farming, were more likely to have correct KAP on AMU and AMR. Further, farmers from the Cox&rsquo;s Bazar region showed correct knowledge, whereas farmers of the Chattogram region showed a correct attitude towards AMU and AMR. A Spearman&rsquo;s rank-order correlation revealed a positive association between knowledge&ndash;attitudes and knowledge&ndash;practices. The findings of the current investigation provide baseline evidence about the KAP of poultry farmers from low-income resources and offer insights into designing interventions and policies for the use of AMU and AMR in Bangladesh