Meeting the food needs of Africa's growing population over the next half-century will require technologies that significantly improve rural livelihoods at minimal environmental cost. These technologies will likely be distinct from those of the Green Revolution, which had relatively little impact in sub-Saharan Africa; consequently, few such interventions have been rigorously evaluated. This pap...

Intensity profiles for helminths are used to describe population infection status, monitor effectiveness of control programs, and provide accurate data to validate transmission models. This study aims to accurately predict age/gender specific intensity profiles of endemic schistosomiasis japonica infection in the Philippines. Poor sensitivity of the Kato-Katz test and large heterogeneity in inf...

Malignant mesothelioma in the western world is often associated with asbestos exposure. It is a relatively rare cancer that causes approximately 2,500 deaths yearly in the United States and 1,000 deaths yearly in the United Kingdom. In contrast, among people born in the Cappadocian (Turkey) villages of Tuzkoy, Karain, and "Old" Sarihidir, approximately 50% of deaths are caused by malignant meso...

INTRODUCTION Landmines are indiscriminate weapons that mainly injure poor populations in the developing world. Pre-hospital treatment by village-based paramedics and first responders has reduced mortality, but little is known about the social impact of paramedic and first responder training in villages. The aim of this study was to understand how villagers in socially deprived, mine-infested vi...

BACKGROUND A village-randomized trial of a seven-valent pneumococcal-conjugate-vaccine (PCV-7) conducted in rural Gambia showed a decrease of vaccine-type (VT) and a non-significant increase in non-vaccine-type (NVT) nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococci two years after vaccination. Here, we report findings four years after vaccination. METHODS PCV-7 was given to all children below 30 months...

INTRODUCTION Because cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Honduras, this study assessed knowledge, attitudes and barriers to cervical cancer screening services by Papanicolaou smear (pap smear) for women in rural, remote Honduras served by Virginia Commonwealth University's Global Health and Health Disparities Program (GH2DP). METHODS Two interviewers administered an in...

We have been implementing the research work in order to achieve the rural clinics that can provide the similar quality of clinic performance as that of urban general hospitals. The research work involves the use of common fund in community, from the financial viewpoint, for the purpose of continuous management of clinics in rural villages of developing countries, and the introduction of telemed...

BACKGROUND Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important vector-borne disease in Iran. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Deltamethrin treated nets in comparison to Indoors Residual Spraying (IRS) for the control of leishmaniasis in a new focal area of Iran. METHODS The study was carried out in 5 villages in the west of Iran during 2012-2013. One village was selected to the ap...

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a chronic tubulointerstitial disease whose mosaic-like distribution throughout the Balkans has not changed significantly since its initial description. In this study, we explored the hypothesis that the occurrence of BEN is linked with the environmental geochemistry of villages. Soil samples were collected from BEN and non-BEN villages in the Vratza region of...