Community-Minimal Invasive Tissue Sampling (cMITS) using a modified ambulance for ascertaining the cause of death: A novel approach piloted in a remote inaccessible rural area in India.

Background: Melghat in India is a hilly, forested, difficult to access, impoverished rural area in northeast part of Maharashtra (Central India) with difficult healthcare access. Melghat has very high Mortality rates, because of grossly inadequate medical facilities. (1) Home deaths contribute to 67% of deaths,(2) which are difficult to track and where cause of death is mostly unknown.

Mortality From Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Children Under 2 Years of Age: A Prospective Community Cohort Study in Rural Maharashtra, India.

Background: Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most important viral cause of lower respiratory tract infection deaths in infants, there are few data on infant community deaths caused by RSV.

Methods: This was an active surveillance of children younger than 2 years of age in 93 villages, 5 primary health centers, and 3 hospitals serving these villages. Village health workers and counselors at the health facilities monitored all lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in consented subjects.

The Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Children Under 2 Years of Age in a Rural Community in Maharashtra, India.

Background: Globally, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of acute lower tract infection (LRTI) in children younger than 2 years of age, but there are scant population-based studies on the burden of RSV illness in rural communities and no community studies in preterm infants.

Methods: Active surveillance of LRTI was performed in the community and hospital setting for the population of 93 tribal villages in Melghat, Central India, over 4 respiratory seasons. A nasopharyngeal swab was obtained from cases presenting as a severe LRTI for molecular analysis of respiratory pathogens including RSVA and B.