This is an investigation into how serious the kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis) situation was in colonial Bihar, what the government's policy was to control it and how the people responded to it. Until 1903, medical men had little idea about the true nature of this disease, which spread rapidly in the wake of the opening up of communication by rail and road. British medical intervention against kala-azar succeeded only in 1919 with the introduction of the antimony treatment.

In the 7 December 2007 issue, L. Roberts and M. Enserink discuss malaria eradication in the News Focus Story "Did they really say..eradication?" Information from India's 5-year economic plans shows that even if complete eradication cannot be secured, economic gains and reduced suffering may be worth the effort. (Letters)

The US system of immunisation during childhood is a complex mix of private sector and public sector roles and responsibilities. This system has introduced new vaccines into a schedule that protects children and adolescents from 16 infectious diseases. A universal recommendation establishes a medical standard that should be available to all children, but emerging evidence suggests that some children are not receiving new vaccines because of increased costs.

civil society groups have asked the union government to table the long pending hiv-aids bill at the next session of parliament. The ngo, Indian Network of People Living with hiv - aids says

On February 9, an Air India flight brought from Kathmandu to Delhi one of India’s most wantedÀ Amit Kumar alias Santosh Raut. From his non-descript nursing home in Gurgaon, Haryana, Kumar allegedly ran a multi-crore rupee business duping

Many governments have implemented conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes with the goal of improving options for poor families through interventions in health, nutrition, and education. Families enrolled in CCT programmes receive cash in exchange for complying with certain conditions: preventive health requirements and nutrition supplementation, education, and monitoring designed to improve health outcomes and promote positive behaviour change. The aim was to disaggregate the effects of cash transfer from those of other programme components.

A meeting of the executive committee, State Health Society, under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was held here today under the chairmanship of Vijay Kain, principal secretary, health and family welfare, Punjab, to discuss the State Programme Implementation Plan for 2008-09. A Rs 353-crore plan was proposed by the committee. Kain said the plan would be submitted to the Government of India for approval by director, NRHM Punjab, T.R. Sarangal on February 28.

Americans are fond of complaining that they are "born free and taxed to death'. A new report from WHO recommends a public policy that would increase one particular form of taxation even further

>> Smoking has been banned in restaurants and cafes in France and Germany. Eight German states have ushered in 2008 declaring their pubs and restaurants smoke-free. The new ban is seen as a big

the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently launched a national programme on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

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