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Volume 27, Number 1—January 2021
Research Letter

Etiology of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections, Bangladesh, 2017

Md R. RahamanComments to Author , Karen A. Alroy, Chris A. Van Beneden, Michael S. Friedman, Erin D. Kennedy, Mahmudur Rahman, Arunmozhi Balajee, A.K.M. Muraduzzaman, Tahmina Shirin, Meerjady S. Flora, and Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner
Author affiliations: The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (M.R. Rahaman); Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research, Dhaka (M.R. Rahaman, A.K.M. Muraduzzaman, T. Shirin, M.S. Flora); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (K.A. Alroy, C.A. Van Beneden, M.S. Friedman, E.D. Kennedy, A. Balajee, E. Azziz-Baumgartner); icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh (M.R. Rahman)

Main Article

Table

Participant characteristics and their associations with severe acute respiratory infection case–control status*

Characteristics No. (%)
Unadjusted OR (95% CI) p value or aOR (95% CI)†
Case-patients, n = 73 Controls, n = 146
Age, y, n = 219, median (IQR)
35 (25−50)
35 (24−50)

0.949‡
Sex, n = 219
F 8 (11) 33 (23) Referent
M
65 (89)
113 (77)
2.37 (1.03–5.44)
0.041
Duration from illness onset to seeking care at sentinel hospitals (case-patients), d
Median (IQR)
4 (3−5)



Education, n = 218
Below secondary 50 (68) 103 (71) Referent
Secondary and above
23 (32)
42 (29)
1.13 (0.61–2.08)
0.699
Occupation, n = 218
Unemployed 21 (29) 35 (24) Referent
Homemaker 7 (10) 33 (23) 0.35 (0.13–0.94) 0.037
Farmer 13 (18) 9 (6) 2.41 (0.88–6.59) 0.087
Poultry worker 1 (1) 0
Healthcare worker 0 1 (1)
Other§
31 (42)
67 (46)
0.77 (0.39–1.54)
0.459
Monthly income, USD, n = 218
<250¶ 68 (93) 126 (86) Referent
>250 1 (1) 6 (4) 0.31 (0.04–2.62) 0.281
Refused to answer
4 (5)
13 (9)
0.57 (0.18–1.82)
0.342
No. household members, n = 218
<7 66 (90) 131 (90) Referent
>8
7 (10)
14 (10)
0.99 (0.38–2.58)
0.988
Body mass index# category, n = 176
Underweight 5 (7) 11 (8) Referent
Healthy weight 44 (60) 95 (65) 1.02 (0.33–3.11) 0.974
Overweight 4 (5) 15 (10) 0.59 (0.13–2.70) 0.494
Obese
1 (1)
1 (1)
2.20 (0.11–42.73)
0.602
Behavioral factors
Current smoker, n = 215 16 (22) 42 (29) 0.69 (0.35–1.33) 0.266
Ever smoker, n = 215 22 (30) 53 (36) 0.77 (0.42–1.41) 0.400
Betel nut chewer, n = 219 12 (16) 26 (18) 0.91 (0.43–1.92) 0.801
Gul user, n = 214**
2 (3)
8 (5)
0.49 (0.10–2.37)
0.374
Self-reported preexisting conditions, n = 219
Any underlying chronic condition 34 (47) 36 (25) 2.66 (1.47–4.83) 0.001
Asthma 26 (36) 17 (12) 4.17 (2.08–8.36) 0.000
Chronic lung disease†† 2 (3) 2 (1) 2.07 (0.29–15.02) 0.471
Diabetes 7 (10) 17 (12) 0.83 (0.33–2.11) 0.695
Neurologic disease
13 (18)
21 (14)
1.26 (0.59–2.69)
0.552
History of allergies, n = 219‡‡ 20 (27) 15 (10) 3.11 (1.48–6.56) 0.003
Antibiotics for current illness, case-patients 34 (47)
Antivirals for current illness, case-patients
0



Viral pathogens, n = 219
Influenza viruses 18 (25) 8 (5) 5.65 (2.32–13.74)§§ 11.34 (3.74–34.33)§§
Influenza A(H1N1) 12 (16) 3 (2) 9.38 (2.56–34.41)§§ 11.38 (2.73–47.42)§§
Unsubtyped influenza A 5 (7) 4 (3) 2.61 (0.68–10.03) 11.22 (1.63–77.23)¶¶
Influenza C 1 (1) 2 (1) 1.00 (0.09–11.21) 1.46 (0.10–20.92)
Parainfluenza viruses 4 (5) 1 (1) 8.41 (0.92–76.62)
Human rhinovirus 8 (11) 11 (8) 1.51 (0.58–3.94) 1.35 (0.43–4.27)
Human metapneumovirus 6 (8) 5 (3) 2.53 (0.74–8.57) 1.34 (0.34–5.35)
Adenovirus 1 (1) 2 (1) 1.00 (0.09–11.21) 1.84 (0.14–23.36)
Enterovirus 1 (1) 3 (2) 0.66 (0.07–6.48) 0.77 (0.07–8.81)
Human bocavirus 2 (3) 1 (1) 4.08 (0.36–45.80) 2.48 (0.19–32.45)
Coronaviruses
8 (11)
10 (7)
1.67 (0.63–4.44)
1.30 (0.37–4.55)
Bacterial pathogens, n = 219
Streptococcus pneumoniae 9 (12) 32 (22) 0.50 (0.23–1.12) 0.37 (0.14–0.97)¶¶
Haemophilus influenzae type b 0 4 (3)
Staphylococcus aureus 10 (14) 16 (11) 1.29 (0.55–3.00) 1.96 (0.75–5.16)
Moraxella catarrhalis 3 (4) 5 (3) 1.21 (0.28–5.20) 0.38 (0.06–2.53)
Bordetella spp. 2 (3) 3 (2) 1.34 (0.22–8.22) 1.73 (0.19–15.92)
Klebsiella pneumoniae 23 (32) 34 (23) 1.52 (0.81–2.83) 1.21 (0.59–2.47)
H. influenzae other than type b 9 (12) 24 (16) 0.71 (0.31–1.63) 0.69 (0.27–1.77)
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
0
1 (1)


No pathogens detected 20 (27) 54 (37) 0.64 (0.35–1.19) 0.70 (0.35–1.39)

*Percentages, where relevant, might not sum to 100 because of rounding. aOR, adjusted odds ratio; IQR, interquartile range; OR, odds ratio.
†Adjusted for age, sex, and past medical history, including history of asthma and allergies.
‡Calculated by Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
§Other includes day laborer, butcher, businessman, office worker, and any other occupation not listed.
¶Per capita income in Bangladesh in 2015 was $1,314 (3).
#Healthy body mass Index range is 18.5–24.9 (4).
**Smokeless tobacco constituted of tobacco powder and molasses (5).
††Includes all self-reported lung diseases other than asthma of >3 months’ duration.
‡‡History of allergies included food allergy (n = 21), dust allergy (n = 6), drug allergy (n = 1), and nonspecified allergy (n = 7).
§§p<0.001.
¶¶p<0.05.

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Page updated: December 21, 2020
Page reviewed: December 21, 2020
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