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Category: Volume 08 Issue 04 April 2020
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Title: The Epidemiological Characteristics of an Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) In Bangladesh: A Descriptive Study

Authors: Dr Irin Hossain, MPH, Prof. Dr Manzurul Haque Khan, PhD, Dr Md Shafiur Rahman, MPH, Dr Ashekur Rahman Mullick, MPH, Dr M M Aktaruzzaman, MPH

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v8i4.94

Abstract

 

COVID-19 was first confirmed in Bangladesh in 8 March, 2020. Here, we report results of a descriptive, and exploratory analysis of all cases diagnosed as of 16 April, 2020. COVID-19 cases reported until 16 April, 2020 were extracted from official press briefings of IEDCR, DGHS, and MoHFW. Reports from different newspapers and online news portals were also reviewed. In Bangladesh, till 16 April, 2020, 17003 tests had been carried out which amounts 103 tests per million populations. These tests resulted in detection of 1572 confirmed COVID-19 cases over a period of 40 days. The female to male ratio of confirmed cases was 1:2.33. Of the total confirmed patients, 10% were 20 years of age or under, and 43% were in the age range of 21 to 40 years; elderly group over 60 years old were about 13%. Most cases (about 48.9%) reported that they lived in or had come to Dhaka within 14 days before the onset of illness or had been in close contact with any Dhaka resident. Healthcare providers constituted 4.83% (76) of the detected cases and among them 85.5% were doctors. Since the detection of the 1st case till 16 April, 2020, 106308 people were placed in home quarantine, 3875 were placed in institutional quarantine, and another 461 individuals had been placed in isolation. Among those who had been hospitalized, only 3.18% were discharged after recovery. With the numbers of deaths reaching 60, the case fatality rate (CFR) was 3.9%.COVID-19 is spreading throughout Bangladesh. Testing for infection is both inadequate and not easily accessible. Infections are occurring in all age groups and case fatality is quite high. Healthcare workers especially doctors are possibly at highest risk because of their occupation.

Keywords: Epidemiological Characteristics, Outbreak, Novel corona virus, COVID-19.

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Corresponding Author

Dr Irin Hossain, MPH

National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM), Dhaka, Bangladesh