BACKGROUND Gambian infants frequently acquire Streptococcus pneumoniae soon after birth. We investigated the indirect effect of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) on pneumococcal acquisition in newborn Gambian babies. METHODS Twenty-one villages were randomised to receive PCV-7 to all subjects (11 vaccinated villages) or to infants aged 2-30 months (10 control villages). Other co...

(278 words) Context: Immunization rates in developing countries are low. The efficacy of incentive-based interventions designed to increase immunization rates has not been established. Objective: We conducted a randomized, controlled study of immunization camps in rural India to assess the efficacy of modest, non-financial incentives on immunization rates of children aged 1-3, and compare it wi...

There is belief in South Indian villages that epidemics are due to evil spirits surrounding the villages. The propitiating of Gods and Goddesses to get rid of diseases in these villages are discussed. The Christian and Muslin traditions to cure the diseases by practising religion are also discussed.

The surname is a cultural trait that is extremely useful for historical and linguistic studies and can effectively be used as a genetic marker. In many human populations the surname is inherited in the paternal lineage, and can therefore be considered a marker for the Y chromosome. In this study, surnames were recorded from the white pages of telephone directories in current use in Corsica in 1...

from children; those above ten years of age, therefore, have only been taken account of. This dispensary serves many villages but those situated within an area of about 100 square miles send patients almost daily. The villages within this area are thirty in number. They are all small villages with populations varying from 190 to 1,440. This group is not wholly dependent upon this dispensary for...

Methods In this endline evaluation of the MVP, we retrospectively selected comparison villages that best matched the project villages on possible confounding variables. Cross-sectional survey data on 40 outcomes of interest were collected from both the project and the comparison villages in 2015. Using these data, as well as on-site spending data collected during the project, we estimated proje...

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of modest non-financial incentives on immunisation rates in children aged 1-3 and to compare it with the effect of only improving the reliability of the supply of services. DESIGN Clustered randomised controlled study. SETTING Rural Rajasthan, India. PARTICIPANTS 1640 children aged 1-3 at end point. INTERVENTIONS 134 villages were randomised to one of th...

In recent years, news of ‘‘cancer villages” in the Huaihe River Basin filled front and back pages of newspapers and generated elevated concern among readers. This study aims to understand the relationship between the ‘‘cancer villages” and the ‘‘large cities” around them. A gravity model is constructed to analyze the correlation between ‘‘big cities” and ‘‘cancer villages” in terms of indices i...

This study explores the relationships between forest cover change and the village resettlement and land planning policies implemented in Laos, which have led to the relocation of remote and dispersed populations into clustered villages with easier access to state services and market facilities. We used the Global Forest Cover Change (2000–2012) and the most recent Lao Agricultural Census (2011)...

OBJECTIVE To conduct the first rigorous evaluation of the long-term effect of the Comprehensive Rural Health Project on childhood mortality in rural Maharashtra. METHODS Background information and full birth histories were collected by conducting household surveys and interviewing women. Control villages resembling project villages in terms of population size were randomly selected from an ar...