Nuhu Amin | International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (original) (raw)

Papers by Nuhu Amin

The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater c... more The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater can be used as an indicator of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in specific catchment areas. We conducted a hospital-based study to explore wastewater management in healthcare facilities and analyzed SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the hospital wastewater in Dhaka city during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak between September 2020-January 2021. We selected three COVID-hospitals, two non-COVID-hospitals, and one non-COVID-hospital with COVID wards, conducted spot-checks of the sanitation systems (i.e., toilets, drainage, and septic-tank), and collected 90 untreated wastewater effluent samples (68 from COVID and 22 from non-COVID hospitals). E. coli was detected using a membrane filtration technique and reported as colony forming unit (CFU). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected using the iTaq Universal Probes One-Step kit for RT-qPCR amplification of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab and N gene targets and quantified for SARS-CoV-2 genome equivalent copies (GEC) per mL of sample. None of the six hospitals had a primary wastewater treatment facility; two COVID hospitals had functional septic tanks, and the rest of the hospitals had either broken onsite systems or no containment of wastewater. Overall, 100% of wastewater samples were positive with a high concentration of E. coli (mean=7.0 log10 CFU/100mL). Overall, 67% (60/90) samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The highest SARS-CoV-2 concentrations (median: 141 GEC/mL; range:13-18,214) were detected in wastewater from COVID-hospitals, and in non-COVID-hospitals, the median SARS-CoV-2 concentration was 108 GEC/mL (range: 30-1829). Our results indicate that high concentrations of E. coli and SARS-CoV-2 were discharged through the hospital wastewater (both COVID and non-COVID) without treatment into the ambient water bodies. Although there is no evidence for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via wastewater, this study highlights the significant risk posed by wastewater from health care facilities in Dhaka for the many other diseases that are spread via faecal oral route. Hospitals in low-income settings could function as sentinel sites to monitor outbreaks through wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance systems. Hospitals should aim to adopt the appropriate wastewater treatment technologies to reduce the discharge of pathogens into the environment and mitigate environmental exposures.

researchgate.net

Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burd... more Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burdens. It is one of the most common childhood infectious diseases all over the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness of parents about dental caries among the school going children in Dhaka city. An investigation was carried out among 420 parents in ten different medium schools in Dhaka city. Results revealed that there is a low initiation of the parents when dental health care of children is concerned; .55% parents (p-value=0.001) knows that sweetened food causes dental caries, 45.5%(p-value=0.001) parents give information that their child are taking sweetened food regularly, 27.35% parents reported that their child did not brush a single time in a day, 63.3%(p-value=0.000) knows that soft drinks may cause dental caries, 48.53% (p-value=0.002) parents give information that their child are taking fast foods or snacks regularly, 44.04 % ( p-value=0.004) reported that have never visited a dentist in a year. However, an active collective effort of the school authority and dental health care team can make awareness program more effective and can also make parents more aware about the importance of milk teeth preservation as well as dental caries prevention.

PLOS ONE, 2015

The number of people served by networked systems that supply intermittent and contaminated drinki... more The number of people served by networked systems that supply intermittent and contaminated drinking water is increasing. In these settings, centralized water treatment is ineffective, while household-level water treatment technologies have not been brought to scale. This study compares a novel low-cost technology designed to passively (automatically) dispense chlorine at shared handpumps with a household-level intervention providing water disinfection tablets (Aquatab), safe water storage containers, and behavior promotion. Twenty compounds were enrolled in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and randomly assigned to one of three groups: passive chlorinator, Aquatabs, or control. Over a 10-month intervention period, the mean percentage of households whose stored drinking water had detectable total chlorine was 75% in compounds with access to the passive chlorinator, 72% in compounds receiving Aquatabs, and 6% in control compounds. Both interventions also significantly improved microbial water quality. Aquatabs usage fell by 50% after behavioral promotion visits concluded, suggesting intensive promotion is necessary for sustained uptake. The study findings suggest high potential for an automated decentralized water treatment system to increase consistent access to clean water in low-income urban communities.

Introduction Point-of-use water treatment may reduce diarrheal disease but has been poorly adopte... more Introduction Point-of-use water treatment may reduce diarrheal disease but has been poorly adopted and inconsistently used among low-income households. Community-level water treatment, such as automated disinfection at shared water points, has received little attention in part because appropriate technologies are lacking. The ZIMBA is a batch chlorinator which dispenses a preset dose of 3ml of 0.4% sodium hypochlorite solution into a holding tank for every 10L of water. Upon chlorination, water is flushed by an automatic siphon into a storage reservoir and dispensed via a tap. We conducted a study to assess acceptability and the accuracy and consistency of chlorine dosing and microbial water quality of ZIMBA chlorinated municipal water among low-income urban neighborhoods in Dhaka. Methods From February to April 2012, we enrolled 11 household (HH) compounds (with 9-30 HHs in each) from an urban slum where HHs access water from a handpump connected to the municipal piped supply. Five...

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2014

researchgate.net

Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burd... more Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burdens. It is one of the most common childhood infectious diseases all over the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness of parents about dental caries among the school going children in Dhaka city. An investigation was carried out among 420 parents in ten different medium schools in Dhaka city. Results revealed that there is a low initiation of the parents when dental health care of children is concerned; .55% parents (p-value=0.001) knows that sweetened food causes dental caries, 45.5%(p-value=0.001) parents give information that their child are taking sweetened food regularly, 27.35% parents reported that their child did not brush a single time in a day, 63.3%(p-value=0.000) knows that soft drinks may cause dental caries, 48.53% (p-value=0.002) parents give information that their child are taking fast foods or snacks regularly, 44.04 % ( p-value=0.004) reported that have never visited a dentist in a year. However, an active collective effort of the school authority and dental health care team can make awareness program more effective and can also make parents more aware about the importance of milk teeth preservation as well as dental caries prevention.

The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater c... more The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater can be used as an indicator of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in specific catchment areas. We conducted a hospital-based study to explore wastewater management in healthcare facilities and analyzed SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the hospital wastewater in Dhaka city during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak between September 2020-January 2021. We selected three COVID-hospitals, two non-COVID-hospitals, and one non-COVID-hospital with COVID wards, conducted spot-checks of the sanitation systems (i.e., toilets, drainage, and septic-tank), and collected 90 untreated wastewater effluent samples (68 from COVID and 22 from non-COVID hospitals). E. coli was detected using a membrane filtration technique and reported as colony forming unit (CFU). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected using the iTaq Universal Probes One-Step kit for RT-qPCR amplification of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab and N gene targets and quantified for SARS-CoV-2 genome equivalent copies (GEC) per mL of sample. None of the six hospitals had a primary wastewater treatment facility; two COVID hospitals had functional septic tanks, and the rest of the hospitals had either broken onsite systems or no containment of wastewater. Overall, 100% of wastewater samples were positive with a high concentration of E. coli (mean=7.0 log10 CFU/100mL). Overall, 67% (60/90) samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The highest SARS-CoV-2 concentrations (median: 141 GEC/mL; range:13-18,214) were detected in wastewater from COVID-hospitals, and in non-COVID-hospitals, the median SARS-CoV-2 concentration was 108 GEC/mL (range: 30-1829). Our results indicate that high concentrations of E. coli and SARS-CoV-2 were discharged through the hospital wastewater (both COVID and non-COVID) without treatment into the ambient water bodies. Although there is no evidence for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via wastewater, this study highlights the significant risk posed by wastewater from health care facilities in Dhaka for the many other diseases that are spread via faecal oral route. Hospitals in low-income settings could function as sentinel sites to monitor outbreaks through wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance systems. Hospitals should aim to adopt the appropriate wastewater treatment technologies to reduce the discharge of pathogens into the environment and mitigate environmental exposures.

researchgate.net

Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burd... more Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burdens. It is one of the most common childhood infectious diseases all over the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness of parents about dental caries among the school going children in Dhaka city. An investigation was carried out among 420 parents in ten different medium schools in Dhaka city. Results revealed that there is a low initiation of the parents when dental health care of children is concerned; .55% parents (p-value=0.001) knows that sweetened food causes dental caries, 45.5%(p-value=0.001) parents give information that their child are taking sweetened food regularly, 27.35% parents reported that their child did not brush a single time in a day, 63.3%(p-value=0.000) knows that soft drinks may cause dental caries, 48.53% (p-value=0.002) parents give information that their child are taking fast foods or snacks regularly, 44.04 % ( p-value=0.004) reported that have never visited a dentist in a year. However, an active collective effort of the school authority and dental health care team can make awareness program more effective and can also make parents more aware about the importance of milk teeth preservation as well as dental caries prevention.

PLOS ONE, 2015

The number of people served by networked systems that supply intermittent and contaminated drinki... more The number of people served by networked systems that supply intermittent and contaminated drinking water is increasing. In these settings, centralized water treatment is ineffective, while household-level water treatment technologies have not been brought to scale. This study compares a novel low-cost technology designed to passively (automatically) dispense chlorine at shared handpumps with a household-level intervention providing water disinfection tablets (Aquatab), safe water storage containers, and behavior promotion. Twenty compounds were enrolled in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and randomly assigned to one of three groups: passive chlorinator, Aquatabs, or control. Over a 10-month intervention period, the mean percentage of households whose stored drinking water had detectable total chlorine was 75% in compounds with access to the passive chlorinator, 72% in compounds receiving Aquatabs, and 6% in control compounds. Both interventions also significantly improved microbial water quality. Aquatabs usage fell by 50% after behavioral promotion visits concluded, suggesting intensive promotion is necessary for sustained uptake. The study findings suggest high potential for an automated decentralized water treatment system to increase consistent access to clean water in low-income urban communities.

Introduction Point-of-use water treatment may reduce diarrheal disease but has been poorly adopte... more Introduction Point-of-use water treatment may reduce diarrheal disease but has been poorly adopted and inconsistently used among low-income households. Community-level water treatment, such as automated disinfection at shared water points, has received little attention in part because appropriate technologies are lacking. The ZIMBA is a batch chlorinator which dispenses a preset dose of 3ml of 0.4% sodium hypochlorite solution into a holding tank for every 10L of water. Upon chlorination, water is flushed by an automatic siphon into a storage reservoir and dispensed via a tap. We conducted a study to assess acceptability and the accuracy and consistency of chlorine dosing and microbial water quality of ZIMBA chlorinated municipal water among low-income urban neighborhoods in Dhaka. Methods From February to April 2012, we enrolled 11 household (HH) compounds (with 9-30 HHs in each) from an urban slum where HHs access water from a handpump connected to the municipal piped supply. Five...

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2014

researchgate.net

Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burd... more Dental caries have historically been considered one of the most important global oral health burdens. It is one of the most common childhood infectious diseases all over the world. The purpose of this study was to assess the awareness of parents about dental caries among the school going children in Dhaka city. An investigation was carried out among 420 parents in ten different medium schools in Dhaka city. Results revealed that there is a low initiation of the parents when dental health care of children is concerned; .55% parents (p-value=0.001) knows that sweetened food causes dental caries, 45.5%(p-value=0.001) parents give information that their child are taking sweetened food regularly, 27.35% parents reported that their child did not brush a single time in a day, 63.3%(p-value=0.000) knows that soft drinks may cause dental caries, 48.53% (p-value=0.002) parents give information that their child are taking fast foods or snacks regularly, 44.04 % ( p-value=0.004) reported that have never visited a dentist in a year. However, an active collective effort of the school authority and dental health care team can make awareness program more effective and can also make parents more aware about the importance of milk teeth preservation as well as dental caries prevention.