A seven-year surveillance of epidemiology of malaria reveals travel and gender are the key drivers of dispersion of drug resistant genotypes in Kenya.

Malaria drug resistance is a global public health concern. Though parasite mutations have been associated with resistance, other factors could influence the resistance. A robust surveillance system is required to monitor and help contain the resistance.

A national study of the association between traffic-related air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Canada, 1999-2008.

Numerous studies have examined the association of air pollution with preterm birth and birth weight outcomes. Traffic-related air pollution has also increasingly been identified as an important contributor to adverse health effects of air pollution. We employed a national nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure model to examine the association between NO2 and pregnancy outcomes in Canada between 1999 and 2008.

Associations of Pregnancy Outcomes and PM2.5 in a National Canadian Study.

Background: Numerous studies have examined associations between air pollution and pregnancy outcomes, but most have been restricted to urban populations living near monitors.

Objectives: We examined the association between pregnancy outcomes and fine particulate matter in a large national study including urban and rural areas.

Methods: Analyses were based on approximately 3 million singleton live births in Canada between 1999 and 2008.

Immigration, ethnicity, and avoidable mortality in Canada, 1991-2006.

Objective: Avoidable mortality is a well-recognized, but less studied indicator of the performance of the health system. First, the study seeks to establish whether immigrants overall and selected foreign-born ethnic groups (Western Europeans, South Asians, Chinese, and Filipinos) have an advantage over nonimmigrants in avoidable mortality. Second, it assesses the effect of sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors on any observed differences by duration of residence.

Neighbourhood immigrant concentration and hospitalization: a multilevel analysis of cardiovascular-related admissions in Ontario using linked data.

Objective: To assess the influence of neighbourhood immigrant concentration on cardiovascular-disease-related hospitalizations in Canada (CVDH), while adjusting for individual-level immigrant status and socio-economic indicators at individual and neighbourhood levels.

Methods: Data were from the 2006 Canadian Census linked to the hospital Discharge Abstract Data (DAD) for the province of Ontario. Adults (n=1,459,950) aged ≥18 years at baseline and grouped by place of birth (Canada, China, South Asia, Europe, and other) were followed between Census Day May 16, 2006 and March 31, 2008.

Health literacy and disability: differences between generations of Canadian immigrants.

Objectives: To determine whether there are differences in disability by immigrant generation and region of origin and recency of arrival in Canada, and the role of health literacy in this relationship.

Methods: A secondary analysis of the Canadian component of the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) was undertaken.

Results: Compared to the third-plus generation, first-generation immigrants were less likely to report disability; these differences remained even after adjustment for sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors.

Five-year tracking of Plasmodium falciparum allele frequencies in a holoendemic area with indistinct seasonal transitions.

Background: The renewed malaria eradication efforts require an understanding of the seasonal patterns of frequency of polymorphic variants in order to focus limited funds productively. Although cross-sectional studies in holoendemic areas spanning a single year could be useful in describing parasite genotype status at a given point, such information is inadequate in describing temporal trends in genotype polymorphisms. For Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Kisumu District Hospital, Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-resistance transporter gene (Pfcrt-K76T) and P.

Differences between immigrants at various durations of residence and host population in all-cause mortality, Canada 1991-2006.

We used data from the 1991-2006 Canadian Census Mortality and Cancer Follow-up Study to compare all-cause mortality for immigrants with that of the Canadian-born population. The study addressed two related questions. First, do immigrants have a mortality advantage over the Canadian-born? Second, if immigrants have a mortality advantage, does it persist as their duration of residence increases? The analysis fitted sex-stratified hazard regression models for the overall sample and for selected countries of birth (UK, China, India, Philippines, and the Caribbean).

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the hemagglutinin 1 protein of human influenza A virus subtype H1N1 circulating in Kenya during 2007-2008.

Background: Among influenza viruses, type A viruses exhibit the greatest genetic diversity, infect the widest range of host species, and cause the vast majority of cases of severe disease in humans, including cases during the great pandemics. The hemagglutinin 1 (HA1) domain of the HA protein contains the highest concentration of epitopes and, correspondingly, experiences the most intense positive selection pressure.

Objectives: We sought to isolate and genetically characterize influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A[H1N1]) circulating in Kenya during 2007-2008, using the HA1 protein.

Gender differences in functional limitations among Canadians with arthritis: the role of disease duration and comorbidity.

Background: Mechanisms underlying gender disparities in functional limitations among people with arthritis remain unclear. This study examined gender differences in the relationship between disease duration and comorbidity and functional limitations among people with arthritis.

Data And Methods: Data were from the arthritis component of the 2009 Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada.

Immigration, generation and self-rated health in Canada: on the role of health literacy.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in self-rated health by immigration and generational status, and the role of health literacy in this relationship.

Methods: Data were from the Canadian component of the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) undertaken by Statistics Canada. The sample comprised a total of 22,818 persons, of whom 3,861 were immigrants and 18,957 non-immigrants.

A growing global network's role in outbreak response: AFHSC-GEIS 2008-2009.

A cornerstone of effective disease surveillance programs comprises the early identification of infectious threats and the subsequent rapid response to prevent further spread. Effectively identifying, tracking and responding to these threats is often difficult and requires international cooperation due to the rapidity with which diseases cross national borders and spread throughout the global community as a result of travel and migration by humans and animals. From Oct.

Women's educational attainment and intergenerational patterns of fertility behaviour in Kenya.

There is a strong theoretical and empirical relationship between educational attainment and fertility behaviour. However, a fundamental issue that has largely been neglected is the change in this relationship across cohorts resulting from differential improvement in educational opportunities for women over time and how it relates to fertility transition. Utilizing the 1998 DHS data from Kenya this study examines the differential effect of educational attainment on women's use of modern contraception and desire for cessation of childbearing across generations.