Evaluating barriers to reaching women with public health information in remote communities in Mali.

Telecommunications offers an alternative or supplement to community-based interventions as a means of extending healthcare services and improving health outcomes in remote settings but can fail to reach target communities and achieve the desired impact if barriers to access are not overcome. We conducted seven focus group discussions and 26 interviews with community health workers, community leaders, and female members of the public who declared that they had or had not previously accessed free audio health messages provided via a mobile platform in two rural communities of Mali, Koulikoro and Bougouni. A content analysis showed that participants accessed and trusted health information from a range of sources, including radio, telephone and television, as well as town criers, local relays and community health centres. Barriers to access faced by women included economic factors, lack of network or electricity, and social factors such as illiteracy, cultural restrictions and being unaware of mobile communication. Through analysis and interpretation of the participants' responses, we have made recommendations for future campaigns for the dissemination of health-related information for women in remote settings.

A review of Musca sorbens (Diptera: Muscidae) and Musca domestica behavior and responses to chemical and visual cues.

Musca flies (Diptera: Muscidae) have been found culpable in the mechanical transmission of several infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and helminths, particularly in low-income settings in tropical regions. In large numbers, these flies can negatively impact the health of communities and their livestock through the transmission of pathogens. In some parts of the world, Musca sorbens is of particular importance because it has been linked with the transmission of trachoma, a leading cause of preventable and irreversible blindness or visual impairment caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, but the contribution these flies make to trachoma transmission has not been quantified and even less is known for other pathogens. Current tools for control and monitoring of house flies remain fairly rudimentary and have focused on the use of environmental management, insecticides, traps, and sticky papers. Given that the behaviors of flies are triggered by chemical cues from their environment, monitoring approaches may be improved by focusing on those activities that are associated with nuisance behaviors or with potential pathogen transmission, and there are opportunities to improve fly control by exploiting behaviors toward semiochemicals that act as attractants or repellents. We review current knowledge on the odor and visual cues that affect the behavior of M. sorbens and Musca domestica, with the aim of better understanding how these can be exploited to support disease monitoring and guide the development of more effective control strategies.