Profile: the Mbita health and demographic surveillance system.

The Mbita Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Mbita HDSS), located on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, was established in 2006. The main objective of the HDSS is to provide a platform for population-based research on relationships between diseases and socio-economic and environmental factors, and for the evaluation of disease control interventions. The Mbita HDSS had a population of approximately 54 014 inhabitants from 11 576 households in June 2013.

Are long-lasting insecticidal nets effective for preventing childhood deaths among non-net users? A community-based cohort study in western Kenya.

Background: Increasing the distribution and use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in Sub-Saharan Africa has made controlling malaria with ITNs more practical. We evaluated community effects induced by ITNs, specifically long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), under ordinary conditions in an endemic malaria area of Western Kenya.

Methods: Using the database from Mbita Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), children younger than 5 years old were assessed over four survey periods.

Health and Demographic Surveillance System in the Western and coastal areas of Kenya: an infrastructure for epidemiologic studies in Africa.

Background: The Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) is a longitudinal data collection process that systematically and continuously monitors population dynamics for a specified population in a geographically defined area that lacks an effective system for registering demographic information and vital events.

Methods: HDSS programs have been run in 2 regions in Kenya: in Mbita district in Nyanza province and Kwale district in Coast Province. The 2 areas have different disease burdens and cultures.