Household Bird Ownership is Associated with Respiratory Illness among Young Children in Urban Bangladesh (CHoBI7 Program)

Tahmina Parvin International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Elizabeth D. Thomas Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland;

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Kelly Endres Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland;

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Daniel Leung Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

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Md. Sazzadul Islam Bhuyian International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Ismat Minhaj Uddin International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Md. Tasdik Hasan International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Fatema Zohura International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Jahed Masud International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Shirajum Monira International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Jamie Perin Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland;

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Munirul Alam International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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A. S. G. Faruque International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh;

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Christine Marie George Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland;

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ABSTRACT.

There is limited evidence on the association between animal ownership and respiratory illness among young children in low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we examined the association between animal ownership and respiratory illness among children younger than 5 years of age enrolled in a prospective cohort study in urban Bangladesh. This prospective cohort study enrolled 884 participants younger than 5 years of age in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At baseline, trained research assistants administered caregivers of children younger than 5 years of age a questionnaire on household animal ownership. Animal ownership was defined as owning chickens, birds other than chickens, cats, and dogs. Respiratory surveillance was conducted monthly for children based on caregiver-reported coughing, rapid breathing, and difficulty breathing in the past 2 weeks during the 12-month study period. At baseline, 48% of children (424 of 884) had reports of coughing, 5% (40 of 884) had difficulty breathing, 3% (25 of 884) had rapid breathing, and 49% (431 of 884) had reports of any of these three respiratory symptoms. Seventeen percent of children (151 of 884) resided in a household that owned an animal. Children residing in households reporting bird ownership had a significantly greater odds of coughing (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02–1.28) and any of the three respiratory symptoms in the past 2 weeks (odds ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02–1.28). Household bird ownership was associated with respiratory illness in young children. These findings suggest that interventions aiming to reduce young children’s exposure to domestic animals should extend to include birds other than chickens.

Author Notes

Address correspondence to Christine Marie George, Associate Professor, Department of International Health, Program in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Rm. E5535, Baltimore, MD 21205-2103. E-mail: cmgeorge@jhu.edu

Authors’ addresses: Tahmina Parvin, Md. Sazzadul Islam Bhuyian, Ismat Minhaj Uddin, Md. Tasdik Hasan, Fatema Zohura, Jahed Masud, Shirajum Monira, Munirul Alam, and ASG Faruque, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, E-mails: tparvin@icddrb.org, sazzadul.islam@icddrb.org, ismat.minhaj@icddrb.org, tasdikhdip@yahoo.com, fzohura@icddrb.org, jahed@icddrb.org, smonira@icddrb.org, munirul@icddrb.org, and gfaruque@icddrb.org. Elizabeth D. Thomas, Kelly Endres, Jamie Perin, and Christine Marie George, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, E-mails: liz.thomas@jhu.edu, kendres4@jhu.edu, jperin@jhu.edu, and cgeorg19@jhu.edu. Daniel Leung, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, E-mail: daniel.leung@utah.edu.

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