One Health Biweekly Update

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to share the third issue of the biweekly update from the One Health Secretariat, Bangladesh. This update highlights key developments and news related to diseases or conditions arising at the human-animal-wildlife interface.

We appreciate your continuous support and engagement. We highly value your feedback and thoughts, so please feel free to share them with us.

Our sincere apology for the delayed release owing to an unavoidable technical glitch.

Dr. Sabbir Haider

Dr. Nure Alam

Dr. Farhana Rahman

One Health Secretariat, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh launches nationwide typhoid vaccine campaign

Bangladesh began its nationwide typhoid vaccine campaign on October 12, 2025, aiming to immunize around 50 million children aged 9 months to under 15 years with a single, life-saving dose of the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV). The campaign marks Bangladesh as the eighth country in the world to launch such a large-scale initiative. “The TVC campaign 2025 begins a new chapter in protecting our children from the deadly threat of typhoid fever,” said Health Advisor Nurjahan Begum, noting the country’s past immunization successes, from eradicating polio to eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus.  

Source: UNICEF

Dengue toll rises: 10,054 hospitalized, 41 dead in last two weeks

In the last two weeks alone, 10,054 people have been hospitalized and 41 have died across the country. Dhaka recorded the highest number of cases, followed by the Barishal division. As of October 20, 2025, the total number of reported dengue cases stood at 59,849, with 245 deaths. September saw the highest number of hospitalized cases (15,866) and deaths (76). Of the reported cases, 61% were male and 39% female. Among the deceased, 53% were male and 47% female. 

Source: DGHS Dengue Dashboard

Chikungunya cases rise in Dhaka

The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) reports a steady increase in chikungunya cases in Dhaka City since April 1, 2025. A total of 879 suspected cases were detected through IEDCR's event-based surveillance system, of which 483 were laboratory-confirmed by RT-PCR. The number of cases reached the peak during the final half of May of this year. Experts warn that due to limited nationwide surveillance of chikungunya, diagnostic gaps, and clinical overlap with dengue symptoms, actual numbers are likely higher than reported. 

Source: IEDCR

Dead rhino found in Kurigram river

A dead rhinoceros was found in the Dudhkumar River in the Bhurungamari upazila of Kurigram. Residents spotted the massive body stuck on a sandbar at Dakshin Chat Gopalpur village of Tilai Union, around noon. Forest officials suspect the animal was swept downstream by floodwaters from India's Kaziranga National Park—a UNESCO World Heritage site—or a nearby forest. Preliminary observation suggests it is an Indian one-horned rhino, a species now found only in Assam, Nepal, and Bhutan. The rare find is of high environmental and zoological significance, as rhinos went extinct in Bangladesh centuries ago. 

Source: The Daily Star

TIME names icddr,b’s complementary food among best of 2025

TIME magazine has named a breakthrough complementary food for undernourished children, developed by icddr,b (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh) and Washington University in St. Louis, to its Best Inventions of 2025 list in the Social Impact category. The innovation, called MDCF-2 (microbiome-directed complementary food), combines chickpea flour, soybean flour, peanut flour, and green banana to support beneficial gut bacteria that promote growth, immunity, and neurodevelopment in children affected by malnutrition.

Source: icddrb

Rest of Asia 

Japanese Encephalitis surge in Nepal 
Since June 2025, 31 people have died and 133 others have been infected with the Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus in Nepal, the highest figures in recent years. About 74% of the deaths were among people over 40, a largely unvaccinated population. Nepal’s worst JE outbreak occurred in 2005, killing nearly 2000 people, mostly children in the plain land, Tarai districts. Nepal started vaccinating against JE in 2006, eight years before the World Health Organization (WHO) officially issued prequalification certification, to curb the devastating toll.

(Source : __________)

Taiwan flu epidemic intensifies with 16 new deaths
Taiwan’s flu epidemic has worsened for nine consecutive weeks, with over 150,000 outpatient and emergency visits for flu-like illness in the week ending September 28, 2025. Sixteen deaths were reported, including a 5-year-old girl in southern Taiwan who succumbed to influenza A complications. She had a persistent high fever, developed encephalitis, and died within 10 days. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported a 13.5% increase in flu cases compared to the previous week, continuing an upwards trend seen for more than two months.

Kerala battles ‘brain-eating amoeba’ outbreak
Kerala has reported 104 cases of amoebic encephalitis (brain fever) so far this year, including 23 deaths. The disease, caused by the "Naegleria fowleri’ amoeba, attacks the brain and is often fatal. The most affected areas in Kerala include Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts, with rising cases in Kozhikode and Malappuram. Despite global fatality rates as high as 98%, Kerala has managed to reduce the death rate significantly by detecting and treating the disease at an early stage. Kerala authorities have developed a One Health action plan to control the spread.

(Source : —----------------------) 

Scrub typhus hits Maharashtra, India
A scrub typhus outbreak has been reported in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, with 58 cases and two deaths recorded in September and October. The disease spreads through bites from infected chigger mites, commonly found in bushy or rural areas, leaving the people working in farms and forests at a higher risk. Symptoms of scrub typhus resemble chikungunya and malaria and include high fever, body pain, headache, and weakness. Health authorities urged farmers and field workers to wear protective clothing to reduce the risk of infection.

(Source: _____________) 

Rest of the world: 

Food insecurity linked to cognitive decline
A new U.S. study has found that food insecurity is associated with higher risks of dementia and cognitive impairment, especially among adults under 65 years. Researchers analyzed data from over 5,800 participants aged 50 and above in the Health and Retirement study, finding that individuals with low food security were significantly more likely to develop cognitive decline. 

(Source: —--------------------). 

One in six bacterial infections are now antibiotic-resistant
A recent WHO report reveals that one in six laboratory confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotics in 2023. Between 2018  and 2023, antibiotic resistance increased by 5% to 15% annually across more than 40% of monitored bacteria-drug combinations. Resistance rates are highest in South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, where one in three infections are drug-resistant, compared to one in ten in Europe. The crisis is most severe in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with weak health systems and limited surveillance capacity.

(Source: —------------------). 

Manure tank linked to major Salmonella outbreak in Europe 

A manure storage tank in a buffalo farming region in Italy likely played a role in a major European salmonellosis outbreak. In 2024, a significant Salmonella enterica serotype Umbilo outbreak was reported with more than 200 infections and one fatality traced to contaminated produce from Salerno in Italy. Subsequent onsite inspections in the production area revealed a mismanaged manure storage tank. Inspections found calves in three nearby buffalo farms with enteric symptoms, and samples led to the isolation of Salmonella Umbilo, genomically linked to the multi-country outbreak. 

(Source: _____________ )