‘No scope for complacency’
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday warned that while Bangladesh is witnessing zero deaths and a very low Covid positivity rate, there is no scope for complacency.
"Bangladesh has done very well in terms of addressing the pandemic, which can be a lesson for the rest of the world. The rate of vaccination completion in Bangladesh is more than that of the USA," said Dr Neely Kaydos-Daniels, country director of CDC Bangladesh, at a media briefing at the American Centre.
The US government is a proud partner to this success as it has provided 61 million vaccines as well as, through CDC, supported the country, Dr Neely said.
"But being in one pandemic does not mean that we are safe from another," she said.
She said a single, isolated case of a novel disease could be how the next pandemic begins.
"We need to be prepared to prevent, detect and respond to such cases," she said.
Dr Neely recommended increasing and improving the health workforce, strengthening surveillance and laboratory systems to detect new and emerging pathogens, as well as building systems infrastructure and skills to respond to all kinds of public health emergencies.
She said WHO recommends one trained epidemiologist per two lakh people but the ratio is much lower than that in Bangladesh.
Warning Bangladesh of the rising antimicrobial resistance and terming it a slow pandemic evolving, Dr Neely suggested that Bangladesh effectively regulates the abuse of antibiotics.
The US CDC would expand its activities in the country, she said.
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