Child mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: challenges and opportunities.

Acknowledgement of the work of Dr Mohammad Haytham Khayat ............................................................................................................................................................103 Editorial Child mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: challenges and opportunities Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, FRCPCH, FCPS, FAAP ..........................................................................................................................................................................................104 Research articles Factors affecting defaulting from DOTS therapy under the national programme of tuberculosis control in Alexandria, Egypt M. Nour El-Din, T. Elhoseeny and A.M.M.A. Mohsen ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................107 Factors associated with patient delay in accessing pulmonary tuberculosis care, Gezira State, Sudan, 2009 E.Y. Mohamed, S.M. Abdalla, A.A. Khamis, A. Abdelbadea and M.A. Abdelgadir .............................................................................................................................................................114 Mycobacterium tuberculosis spoligotypes circulating in the Lebanese population: a retrospective study N. Bedrossian, M. Hamze, A.K. Rahmo, A. Jurjus, J. Saliba, F. Dabboussi and W. Karam ................................................................................................................................................119 Health education and peer leaders’ role in improving low vaccination coverage in Akre district, Kurdistan region, Iraq M.A. Abdul Rahman, S.A. Al-Dabbagh and Q.S. Al-Habeeb .....................................................................................................................................................................................................125 High incidence of hepatitis B infection after treatment for paediatric cancer at a teaching hospital in Baghdad M.F. Al-Jadiry, M. Al-Khafagi, A.F. Al-Darraji, R .M. Al-Saeed, S.F. Al-Badri and S.A. Al-Hadad ................................................................................................................................130 Risk factors for human brucellosis in northern Jordan M.N. Abo-Shehada and M. Abu-Halaweh .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................135 Public awareness of and support for smoke-free legislation in Turkey: a national survey using the lot quality sampling technique B. Cakir, T. Buzgan, S. Com, H. Irmak, E. Aydin and C. Arpad .................................................................................................................................................................................................141 Blood lead level among Palestinian schoolchildren: a pilot study A.F. Sawalha, R .O. Wright, D.C. Bellinger, C. Amarasiriwardean, A.S. Abu-Taha and W.M. Sweileh ...........................................................................................................................151 Birth weight and risk of childhood acute leukaemia A. Gholami, S. Salarilak, S. Hejazi and H.R. Khalkhali ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................156 External cephalic version for breech presentation at term: predictors of success, and impact on the rate of caesarean section O.A. Hussin, M.A. Mahmoud and M.M. Abdel-Fattah ................................................................................................................................................................................................................162 Depression among a group of elders in Alexandria, Egypt H.M. El Kady and H.K. Ibrahim ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................167 Frequency of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus in subjects with fasting blood glucose below 6.1 mmol/L (110 mg/dL) S.H. Khan, A. Ijaz, S.A. Raza Bokhari, M.S. Hanif and N. Azam ............................................................................................................................................................................................175 Interleukins 12 and 13 levels among beta-thalassaemia major patients R.A. Hashad, N.A. Hamed, M.M. El Gharabawy, H.A. El Metwally and M.G. Morsi .....................................................................................................................................................181