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CSU 7/2009: QUERY TO READERS, U5MR IN THE GAMBIA

Friday, 13th of February 2009

CSU 7/2009: QUERY TO READERS, U5MR IN THE GAMBIA
 
 1) QUERY TO READERS
 
 Do any readers have field experience with vector control of the tsetse fly
 (Glossina spp.)? See the ready reference at http://www.tsetse.org/
 
 
 2) ACCESS TO CARE AND UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY IN THE GAMBIA:
 A CASE-CONTROL STUDY
 
 In this forthcoming article from the Bulletin of the World Health
 Organization, Rutherford and colleagues look at the factors most
 influencing under-five mortality in the Gambia. From their summary:
 
 'Of traditional measures of access, only rural versus urban/periurban
 residence was important: children from rural areas were more likely to
 die. . . For non-traditional measures, children were more likely to die if
 their primary caregivers lacked help with meal preparation, had no one to
 relax with , had no one who could offer good advice, had little say over
 how earned money was spent, were unable to cut spending for health care or
 had to carry out odd jobs to pay for the care.'
 This is quite remarkable in a country where diarrhea and fever of unknown
 origin are the greatest killers of children. It means that the means of
 preventing and curing these conditions are, even in a compact country with
 short traveling distances, less accessible to the rural poor.
 
 Full text is at
 http://www.who.int/bulletin/publish_ahead_of_print/en/index.html
 
 Good reading.
 
 BD