Review Article
Year: 2022 | Month: March | Volume: 12 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 93-113
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20220313
Strategic Plan and Limitations in Tackling Delta Variant Outbreak in Bangladesh
Tamanna Zerin1, Shahnaz Haque2#, Sanzida Jahan3#, Noor E Farjana1, Mosammat A Begum1, Sadia Islam1, Sumaia Akter1
1Department of Microbiology, Stamford University Bangladesh, 51, Siddeswari Road, Dhaka-1217, Bangladesh.
2University to Exeter medical School, University of Exeter, Heavitree Road, EX1 2LU Exeter, UK.
3Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Room 3211, Ottawa, ON, K1H8M5, Canada.
Corresponding Author: Tamanna Zerin
# These authors contributed equally to this work.
ABSTRACT
Since the early Covid-19 outbreak by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the topical Delta variant is currently taking over on a worldwide basis due to its high transmissibility and moderate resistance to vaccines. The variant showed its dominance in India, where it was first isolated and then, spread to neighboring Bangladesh along the porous border. Here, we aim to emphasize the actions taken by the government of Bangladesh to limit the potential for over ascendancy, with all its limitations. From time to time, a group of measures was taken by the government to keep the outbreak under control since its first isolation on March 8, 2020, like quarantine, local or nationwide lockdown, enforced social distancing, contact monitoring, restrictions on international travel, financial support, building awareness and vaccination, etc. However, due to the long-term nature of the outbreak, with the concomitant rise and fall characteristics of the outbreak, as well as the people's socioeconomic state, all efforts have recently been futile. To combat the highly transmissible Delta, the government implemented lockdown and vaccination coverage as the priority. Nevertheless, public unawareness, inadequate hospital beds, high flow oxygen, ICU, and uneven distributions of diagnostic centers and hospitals throughout the country are the major challenges in managing the Delta variant outbreak. The default nature of the Delta variant like high transmissibility, higher morbidity and mortality, less sensitivity to vaccines, and infection in any age group might be the curse to combating the outbreak.
Key words: Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, Delta, Bangladesh, Vaccination, Limitations.