Background and Aim: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been announced as a life-threatening, highly transmissible infectious novel emerging disease worldwide. Rapid detection and epidemiological information are desperately needed to overcome the existing pandemic situation and alleviate national and international crises. Still, to date, there is no significant epidemiological study of COVID-19 available in Bangladesh, especially in the Chattogram division. However, the current study focuses on molecular detection, prevalence, and risk factors associated with COVID-19 in Southern Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: Standard diagnostic protocols through real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were performed for molecular confirmation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Different patient demographics were analyzed for exploring the relationship of four factors – region, sex, age, and symptoms with the accumulated number of COVID-19 cases in the Southern Bangladesh during the period of May 13, 2020, to June 12, 2020. Results: A total of 2954 samples were tested where the cumulative prevalence of circulating SARS-CoV-2 was 29.76% (n=879; 95% CI: 28.11-31.44) in the selected study region. Among the risk factors, the present study revealed that flatland people (35.62%, 95% CI 33.61-37.67, OR=3.13) were more vulnerable to getting infected by SARS-CoV-2 than the people living in hill tracts (13.04%, 95% CI 10.73-15.63). People older than 50 years (34.68%, 95% CI 30.38-39.18) were designated the highest risk than other different age groups. A higher number of COVID-19 cases were confirmed in patients (36.0%, 95% CI 33.77-38.29, OR=1.76) with typical symptoms, but interestingly a significant number of asymptomatic carriers (20.39%, 95% CI 18.13-22.80) also positive for SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first epidemiological report in the Southern Bangladesh for COVID- 19. The study's findings will contribute to health professionals and the policy-makers to take preventive measures against the next outbreak emergency for Bangladesh.

The present global endeavor to uncover the most effective vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that can tremendously prevent transmission, infection and significantly reduce public health risk. COVID-19 vaccination program is underway in different parts of the world including Bangladesh but till to date there is no available health data revealed among the vaccinated peoples. We conducted a cross-sectional study from February 15 to April 15, 2021 to assess the health status of 1st dose Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccinated individuals infected with SARS CoV-2. Standard virological method, real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect SARS-CoV-2 and the different health parameters from vaccinated individuals were collected through direct mobile phone contact using pre-structured questionnaires. A total of 6146 suspected samples were tested and 1752 were found positive for SARS-CoV-2, of them 200 individuals were identified who received 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Within the test period, majority of male (65.6%) and female (34.4%) carried moderate numbers of viruses which comprise between 30.01-35 cyclic threshold (ct) values. Among the vaccinated individuals, 165 (82.5%; 95% CI: 76.51 - 87.5) persons were not hospitalized and 177 (88.5%; 95% CI: 83.24 - 92.57) did not show any respiratory difficulties. Only a few (16) (8%; 95% CI: 4.64 - 12.67) of COVID-19 positive patients needed extra oxygen support and 199 (99.5%; 95% CI: 97.25 - 99.99) individuals did not require any intensive care unit (ICU) interference. Overall, oxygen saturation was recorded around 96.8% and respiratory difficulties did not extend more than 5 days, irrespective of age and sex during the infection period. Within the vaccinated COVID-19 positive individuals 113 (56.5%; 95% CI: 49.33 - 63.48) and 111(55.5%; 95% CI: 48.32 - 62.51) persons have normal physiological taste and smell. However, we have found a larger proportion of vaccinated persons (129) (64.5%; 95% CI: 57.44 - 71.12) carrying different comorbidity, among them high blood pressure 36 (27.9%; 95% CI, 20.37 - 36.48) and diabetes 32 (24.8%; 95% CI: 17.63 - 33.18) were found more prevalent. Moreover, the significant finding of the present study was 199 (99.5%; 95% CI: 97.25 - 99.99) vaccinated individuals survived with good health conditions and became negative in RT-qPCR. The authors suggest that health risk assessment among the COVID-19 vaccinated persons when infected with SARS-CoV-2 is crucial and time demanding task for the whole world. However, the present study illustrates that the administration of the 1st dose Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine significantly reduces health risk during the COVID-19 infection period.

Clostridium perfringens is a ubiquitous spore-forming anaerobic pathogen that is frequently associated with enteric disease in chickens. Moreover, enterotoxin-producing C. perfringens has high zoonotic potential as well as serious public health concerns due to the emanation of food-borne intoxication. The present study was designed to isolate, identify, and toxinotype C. perfringens from both healthy and cases of necrotic or ulcerative enteritis chickens. A total of 110 samples were collected from July 2019 to February 2021. Among the samples, 38 (34.5%, 95% CI: 26.39–43.83) were positive for C. perfringens and were obtained from broiler 21 (33.3%, 95% CI: 22.91–45.67), Sonali 9 (34.6%, 95% CI: 19.31–53.88), and layer 8 (38%, 95% CI: 20.68–59.20). C. perfringens was highly prevalent (35.7%, 95% CI: 25.48–47.44) in enteritis chickens compared with healthy ones. In multiplex PCR toxinotyping, 34 (89.4%) isolates were identified as C. perfringens type A by the presence of the alpha toxin gene (cpa). Moreover, in addition to the cpa gene, 3 (14.3%, 95% CI: 4.14–35.48) broiler and 1 (11.1%, 95% CI: 0.01–45.67) Sonali isolates harbored the enterotoxin gene (cpe) and were classified as type F. However, none of the isolates carried genes encoding beta (cpb), epsilon (etx), iota (iap), or beta-2 (cpb2) toxins. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified the following variables such as; “previously used litter materials” (OR 21.77, 95% CI 2.22–212.66, p ≤ 0.008 ); intestinal lesions, “presence of ulceration” (OR 30.01, 95% CI 3.02–297.91, p ≤ 0.004 ); “ballooned with gas” (OR 24.74, 95% CI 4.34–140.86, p ≤ 0.001 ) and “use of probiotics” (OR 5.24, 95% CI 0.74–36.75, p ≤ 0.095 ) act as risk factors for C. perfringens colonization in chicken gut. This is the first study of molecular toxinotyping of C. perfringens from healthy and enteric-diseased chickens in Bangladesh, which might have a potential food-borne zoonotic impact on human health.

Background and Aim: A vaccine program for coronavirus illness (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) is currently underway in numerous regions of the world, including Bangladesh, but no health data on those who have been vaccinated are available at this time. The study aimed to investigate the health condition of people who had received their first dose of the Oxford- AstraZeneca vaccine and were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Materials and Methods: To detect SARS-CoV-2, a standard virological approach, real-time reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), was used. Several health indicators from vaccinated patients were collected using pre-structured questionnaires during the infection phase. Results: A total of 6146 suspicious samples were analyzed, and 1752 were found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2, with 200 people receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. One hundred and sixty-five (82.5%) were not hospitalized among the vaccinated people, and 177 (88.5%) did not have any respiratory problems. Only 8% of patients required further oxygen support, and 199 (99.5%) did not require intensive care unit intervention. Overall, oxygen saturation was recorded at around 96.8% and respiratory difficulties did not extend more than 5 days during the infection period. Among the vaccinated COVID-19-positive people, 113 (56.5%) and 111 (55.5%) had typical physiological taste and smell. Surprisingly, 129 (64.5%) people had diverse comorbidities, with high blood pressure (27.9%) and diabetes (32 [24.8%]) being the most common. The major conclusion of the current study was that 199 (99.5%) of vaccinated patients survived in good health and tested negative for RT-qPCR. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, administering the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine considerably reduces health risks during the COVID-19 infection period.