BackgroundIn 2010, an acute illness outbreak was reported in school students eating high-energy biscuits supplied by the school feeding programme in northwest Bangladesh. We investigated this outbreak to describe the illness in terms of person, place and time, develop the timeline of events, and determine the cause and community perceptions regarding the outbreak.MethodsWe defined case-patients as students from affected schools reporting any two symptoms including abdominal pain, heartburn, bitter taste, and headache after eating biscuits on the day of illness. We conducted in-depth interviews and group discussions with students, teachers, parents and community members to explore symptoms, exposures, and community perceptions. We conducted a questionnaire survey among case-patients to determine the symptoms and ascertain food items eaten 12 hours before illness onset, and microbiological and environmental investigations.Results Among 142 students seeking hospital care, 44 students from four schools qualified as case-patients. Of these, we surveyed 30 who had a mean age of 9 years; 70% (21/30) were females. Predominant symptoms included abdominal pain (93%), heartburn (90%), and bitter taste (57%). All students recovered within a few hours. No pathogenic Vibrio cholerae, Shigella or Salmonella spp. were isolated from collected stool samples. We found no rancid biscuits in schools and storage sites. The female index case perceived the unusually darker packet label as a “devil’s deed” that made the biscuits poisonous. Many students, parents and community members reported concerns about rumors of students dying from biscuit poisoning.ConclusionsRapid onset, followed by rapid recovery of symptoms; female preponderance; inconsistent physical, microbiological and environmental findings suggested mass sociogenic illness rather than a foodborne or toxic cause. Rumours of student deaths heightening community anxiety apparently propagated this outbreak. Sharing investigation results and reassuring students and parents through health communication campaigns could limit similar future outbreaks and help retain beneficiaries’ trust on nutrition supplementation initiatives.

Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), a large‐sized member of the Bovidae family, is considered as an important livestock species throughout Southeast Asia. In order to better understand the molecular basis of buffalo improvement and breeding, we sequenced and assembled the genome (2n=50) of a river buffalo species Bubalus bubalis from Bangladesh. Its genome size is 2.77 Gb, with a contig N50 of 25 kb and the scaffold N50 of 6.9 Mbp. Based on the assembled genome, we annotated 24,613 genes for future functional genomics studies. Phylogenetic tree analysis of cattle and water buffalo lineages showed that they diverged about 5.8–9.8 million years ago. Our findings provide an insight into the water buffalo genome which will contribute in further research on buffalo such as molecular breeding, understanding complex traits, conservation, and biodiversity.

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Present study was carried out to evaluate the hatching and growth performances of guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) kept under intensive rearing system at the Bangladesh Agricultural University Poultry Farm, Mymensingh. To develop a base population of guinea fowls at BAU Poultry Farm, a good number of hatching eggs were collected from different regions of the country. In first phase, the physical features of hatching eggs, their incubation period, care and handling of eggs during incubation, their fertility and hatchability were investigated. Eggs were hatched in a home incubator incubator at BAU Poultry Farm. In second phase, brooding management of the keets, growth performances, prevention and control of diseases and mortality of the birds were observed. All the activities were performed at the Laboratory of Poultry Science and the Poultry Farm of Bangladesh Agricultural University. Brooding of keets was performed under full intensive system in a littered floor. Broiler starter feed was supplied during the brooding period. Results showed that the shape of egg was top like and both white and spotted cream color shell was found. The average egg weight was 38g per egg and shell thickness was 0.52 mm. The incubation period was 28 days. Fertility and hatchability on set eggs were 80 and 68%, respectively. Dead in shell and dead in germ were 15 and 4%, respectively. The average day-old keet weight was 25.8 g. Average feed intake per bird per day during 0-4, 5-8 and 9-11 weeks of age were 10.22, 30.91 and 52.6 g with the feed conversion ratios were 3.25, 3.05 and 2.88, respectively. The keet’s mortality up to 11 weeks was 10%. Economic feasibility should be taken into consideration with the observation of egg production and other associated parameters keeping guinea under complete free-range rearing system.Progressive Agriculture 27 (1): 70-77, 2016

The effects have been studied of the non-ionic surfactant, Pluronic F-68, on the growth in culture of jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) cotyledons with attached petioles, cotyledon explants and transformed roots. Supplementation of culture medium with 0.001-0.5% (w/v) of either commercial grade Pluronic F-68 or a purified fraction prepared by passage through silica gel, stimulated shoot production from the petioles of C. capsularis var. D154 and C134 cotyledons. This effect was most marked in C134, because of the failure of control cotyledons to produce shoots in the absence of Pluronic. Plants regenerated from Pluronic-treated cotyledons were morphologically normal. Growth of transformed roots of C.