The prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and its characteristics were determined among hospitalized patients with diarrhoea and children with diarrhoea in an urban slum community of Dhaka city using sensitive culture and PCR methods. Stool samples were collected from 410 patients with diarrhoea enrolled in the 2% surveillance system (every 50th patient attending the hospi...

BACKGROUND There is scant information available on the prevalence of parasitic infections in Gujarat, a state in Western India. The present community-based study was undertaken in the urban slums of a city in Gujarat to determine the following parameters: (a) the prevalence and type of pathogenic intestinal parasites and (b) the availability of sanitary facilities in the study population. MAT...

Introduction Leptospirosis has emerged as an important health problem in developing countries due to the growth of slum settlements worldwide, where poor sanitation favours rat-borne transmission. Large urban epidemics occur during seasonal periods of heavy rainfall. However, a detailed analysis has not been performed to determine how rainfall, as well as other climatic factors, specifically in...

BACKGROUND Musculoskeletal health in schoolchildren is a global health problem.The objective of the current study was to assess ergonomic behavior and musculoskeletal health in urban poor schoolchildren in Pune, India. METHODS Sixty-five (29 male students) slum dwelling schoolchildren were assessed for their ergonomics using a validated and reliable tool. RESULTS Average age was 13 years. O...

This study examined the relationship between HIV/AIDS risk perception and protective behaviour among sexually-active urban young slum dwellers in Ibadan, Nigeria. The multistage sampling techniques were used for selecting 1,600 respondents aged 15-24 years. Of these, 1,042 (65%) respondents who reported unprotected sex in the last three months were selected for analysis. Although the sexually-a...

A total of 1570 adolescent girls (aged 10-19 years) of rural, urban and slum areas in and around Dhaka city were investigated to determine the association of anaemia with parasitic infection. About one third (33.50%) of the adolescent girls were found to be infected with one or more protozoans (Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia) and helminths (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura, Stro...

In an urban slum in eastern Kolkata, India, reported diarrhoea rates, healthcare-use patterns, and factors associated with reported diarrhoea episodes were studied as a part of a diarrhoea-surveillance project. Data were collected through a structured interview during a census and healthcare-use survey of an urban slum population in Kolkata. Several variables were analyzed, including (a) indivi...

Menstruation is a normal physiological phenomenon for females indicating her capability for procreation and abnormalities of menstruation are a major gynaecological problem in adolescence. However, variability in menstrual cycle characteristics and menstrual disorders are common. The objectives of the study were to find out the age of menarche among the Adolescent girls of the urban slum, to st...

OBJECTIVE To identify the probable causes of deaths through verbal autopsy and identify the health problems prevalent in underprivileged and marginalized communities. METHODS This was a cross-sectional survey conducted at the community of Nurpur Shahan (Urban Slum), Islamabad, Pakistan in January 2010. W.H.O validated questionnaire was used and 300 adults (age > 18 years) were assessed on the...