Etiology, prevention and treatment of neonatal infections in the community
Project
Despite declines in infant mortality rates in recent decades, neonatal death rates remain extremely high. More than half of infant deaths worldwide now occur in the first month of life, the majority (98 per cent) in developing countries. An estimated 30 to 40 per cent of deaths are due to infections. Available information about deaths caused by infections in neonates has been derived from studies of hospital-based or self-referred patients, which may not accurately reflect the true burden of disease in the community where most births and deaths occur in developing countries.
Bangladesh is one of the poorest and most crowded countries in the world, yet it has an existing medical research infrastructure suitable for conducting studies in the community. This programme will utilise this to link community, home-based surveillance with state-of-the-art laboratory techniques to identify the causes of serious bacterial infections in newborn infants in a rural community. It will also evaluate the impact of introducing a package of essential obstetric and neonatal care practices on neonatal mortality rates.
Applicants
Professor M Santosham
Division of Community Health and Health Systems, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Professor R Black
Division of Community Health and Health Systems, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Dr G L Darmstadt
Save The Children, Washington, USA
Dr A Baqui
Division of Community Health and Health Systems, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Dr D Crook
The Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
Dr E R Moxon
University Department of Paediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
Dr S E Arifeen
Public Health Sciences Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B): Centre for Health and Population Research, Bangladesh
Dr M Khalequzzaman
Public Health Sciences Division, ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research, Bangladesh
Dr K Z Hasan
Public Health Sciences Division, ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research, Bangladesh
Professor S Samir
Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Bangladesh
Professor M Hanif
Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Bangladesh
Professor M Hussain
Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Bangladesh
Professor M A Chowhury
Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Bangladesh
Professor R Amin
Bangladesh Institute of Child Health, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Bangladesh
Dr S Chowhury
Institute of Child and Mother Health, Bangladesh
Dr P Winch
Division of Community Health and Health Systems, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA