Does malaria epidemiology project Cameroon as ‘Africa in miniature.

Cameroon, a west-central African country with a ~20 million population, is commonly regarded as ‘Africa in miniature’ due to the extensive biological and cultural diversities of whole Africa being present in a single-country setting. This country is inhabited by ancestral human lineages in unique eco-climatic conditions and diverse topography. Over 90% Cameroonians are at risk of malaria infection, and ~41% have at least one episode of malaria each year. Historically, the rate of malaria infection in Cameroon has fluctuated over the years; the number of cases was about 2 million in 2010 and 2011. The Cameroonian malaria control programme faces an uphill task due to high prevalence of multidrug-resistant parasites and insecticide-resistant malaria vectors. Above all, continued human migration from the rural to urban areas as well as population exchange with adjoining countries, high rate of ecological instabilities caused by deforestation, poor housing, lack of proper sanitation and drainage system might have resulted in the recent increase in incidences of malaria and other vector-borne diseases in Cameroon. The available data on eco-environmental variability and intricate malaria epidemiology in Cameroon reflect the situation in the whole of Africa, and warrant the need for in-depth study by using modern surveillance tools for meaningful basic understanding of the malaria triangle (host-parasite-vector-environment).

Climate change and human health: Indian context.

The article reviews the issue of climate change and health in the Indian context. The importance of climate change leading to estimated loss of above 2.5 million DALYs in southeast Asia, mortality due to heat waves, and the importance of air quality related respiratory diseases, disasters due to excessive floods, malnutrition due to reduction in rice, maize and sorghum crops etc. Latest work undertaken in India, vis-a-vis current scenario and need for further work has been discussed. There is felt need of further studies on assessing the impact on dengue and chikungunya as the transmission dynamics of these diseases involve water availability, storage and life style, etc. Uncertainties and knowledge gaps identified in the studies undertaken so far have also been highlighted. As regards to vector borne diseases, there is a need to concentrate in the areas which are presently free from malaria and with use of best available tools of interventions in already disease endemic areas like northeastern states, the risk of climate change impacts can be minimized.

Smokeless tobacco: A major public health problem in the SEA region: A review.

Smokeless tobacco use is on the upswing in some parts of the world, including parts of SEAR. It is therefore important to monitor this problem and understand the possible consequences on public health. Material for this review was obtained from documents and data of the World Health Organization, co-authors, colleagues, and searches on key words in PubMed and on Google. Smokeless tobacco use in SEAR, as betel quid with tobacco, declined with increased marketing of cigarettes from the early twentieth century. Smokeless tobacco use began to increase in the 1970s in South Asia, with the marketing of new products made from areca nut and tobacco and convenient packaging. As a consequence, oral precancerous conditions and cancer incidence in young adults have increased significantly. Thailand's successful policies in reducing betel quid use through school health education from the 1920s and in preventing imports of smokeless tobacco products from 1992 are worth emulating by many SEAR countries. India, the largest manufacturing country of smokeless tobacco in the Region, is considering ways to regulate its production. Best practices require the simultaneous control of smokeless and smoking forms of tobacco. Governments in SEAR would do well to adopt strong measures now to control this problem.