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Background The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of thalassemia and to analyze the need for public health services for migrant populations in different cities in Guangdong Province, China. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 21 cities of Guangdong Province. Twenty-three types of a- and β-globin gene mutations were detected in a total of 14,230 pregnant women and 14,249 husbands. Results There was a 16.45% prevalence of thalassemia among the 28,479 individuals, and the prevalences of α-, β-, and combined α-/β- thalassemia were 12.03%, 3.80%, and 0.63%, respectively. Compared with the native city residents in the province, the migrants from within the province and the immigrants from outside the province had lower prevalences of thalassemia, but the prevalence values were >11%. Conclusions The prevalence values for thalassemia gene mutations were high in all three population groups studied in Guangdong Province. The results indicate that all segments of the Guangdong population should be screened for thalassemia.

Background Higher dose of vitamin D supplementation 50000 IU is required for those whose serum 25(OH)D levels are 50 nmol/L and below. The increment in serum 25(OH)D though not significantly affected by race, sex or age it is negatively correlated to the baseline 25(OH)D concentration. This study investigated whether the mean increase in serum 25(OH)D will be higher among participants with lower baseline 25(OH)D levels and whether the duration of supplementation has an influence on the serum 25(OH)D achieved. Methods A clinical audit of patients’ medical records from a community health centre in Melbourne for the period 01.01.2010 to 31–12.2012 was undertaken. Paired sample t test was used to determine difference in pre and post dose serum 25(OH)D. Simple and multiple linear regressions were used to examine the association between the difference in pre and post dose serum 25(OH)D and duration of supplementation and baseline serum 25(OH)D, adjusting for socio-demographic factors. Results A total of 205 patients were included in the study. Mean difference in serum 25(OH)D was highest 52.8 nmol/L (95 % CI: 46.63–58.92) among those whose serum 25(OH)D was below 25 nmol/L at baseline. Baseline 25(OH)D alone accounted for 13.7 % of variance in the effect size (F(2, 202) = 16.0. p

Following civil unrest in North Africa early in 2011, there was a large influx of migrants in Italy. A syndromic surveillance system was set up in April to monitor the health of this migrant population and respond rapidly to any health emergency. In the first six months, the system produced 67 alerts across all syndromes monitored and four alarms. There were no health emergencies, however, indicating that this migration flow was not associated with an increased risk of communicable disease transmission in Italy.

Background: Anaemia in pregnancy is a common medical condition managed by general practitioners (GPs) in Australia. Objective: The aim of this article is to raise awareness of anaemia that occurs in pregnancy, understand its increasing complexities with an expanding migrant population, identify at-risk groups and promote appropriate management. Discussion: With anaemia reportedly occurring in 25% of women in pregnancy and GPs managing the majority of preconception and early pregnancy care, it is important to have a sound understanding of the aetiology, risks and management options. While iron deficiency anaemia is most commonly seen, a more complex understanding in regard to other causes and haemoglobinopathy screening is required.

A study on lead pollution was carried out on a sample of ca. 300 city children. This paper presents the errors producing bias in the sample. It is emphasized that, in Switzerland, the difference between the Swiss and the migrant population (the latter being mainly Italian and Spanish) must be taken into account.

• Three hundred thirty-nine migrant worker women and children were screened by single stool examination for intestinal parasites. Infection occurred in 34.2%. Giardia lamblia and Trichuris trichiura were the most common pathogens; Entamoeba coli and Endolimax nana were the most common commensals. Infants under 1 year of age were free of infection. Children between 2 and 5 years old and women between 25 and 35 years old had the highest prevalence. Significantly more Haitians were infected than Mexican-Americans or American blacks. Of ten symptoms, only abdominal pain and gas correlated significantly with infection. This migrant population has a greater prevalence of intestinal parasites than the general American public. Screening by stool examination may be beneficial to diminish the reservoir of infection. ( Arch Intern Med 1986;146:513-515)

In Reply.— The decision to recommend measles vaccination for migrant children as young as 6 months of age during the Texas outbreak was reached after careful consideration of (1) the impact of measles in children aged 6 to 11 months; (2) the risk of measles to children of this age in the migrant population; (3) the potential consequences of vaccinating children this young; and (4) alternative means of measles prophylaxis. Measles can be particularly severe in children younger than 1 year. Infants have consistently had the highest mortality rates and the highest death-to-case ratios. 1-3 Thus, it is important to protect them when they are at high risk of exposure to measles. At the time of the outbreak, Texas was experiencing its most severe measles outbreak in three years. The outbreak began among children seen at migrant health clinics. Many cases occurred in infants who had a high frequency of

(1) In a partially migrant population of kestrels studied for 4 years in south Scotland, migrants settled in spring from late February until late April. Mean arrival time was earlier following a mild winter, but was not related to local food supply, so that the mean length of courtship (pairing to egg-laying) was longer in a poor vole year (when laying was late) than in good times (when laying was early). (2) Within years, migrants that arrived early tended to pair earlier, and lay earlier, than those that arrived late. Later pairing birds partly compensated for this by having shorter courtship than those that paired early. (3) Males and females arrived over roughly the same period and there was no difference in their mean arrival dates. However, within pairs, the males arrived about 4 days, on average before their females. The sex ratio of winter residents was biased towards males, so more early arriving females than males were able to pair with residents on arrival. This resulted in a surplus of unpaired males that persisted until the end of the settling period when all breeding birds were paired. (4) In the 2 years when they bred in substantial numbers, first-year birds arrived later than adults. In males, but not females, first-year birds resident over winter waited longer than adults before finding a mate. (5) Selective mating of first-year birds and adults occurred in 1978 but not 1979. The observed preponderance of yearling-yearling and adult-adult pairs in 1978 seemed largely due to the different arrival times of the two age groups, though this did not entirely explain the infrequency of yearling-male x adult-female pairs compared with adult-male x yearling-female. The data were consistent with the idea that females, but not males, preferred adult partners when these were available.

The manner in which migrants to the city are distributed within the city is of considerable practical and theoretical importance. Historically, the characteristic form of growth of the American metropolis has been related to the initial settlement of groups of foreign migrants near the center of the city and their movement outward as successive waves of new immigrant groups entered the central slum areas. Since migrants from within the United States have replaced foreign migrants as a source of new population, significant changes in the ecological organization of the city may be anticipated insofar as the settlement pattern of these internal migrants is found to differ from that of the older foreign migrants. From another point of view, the present settlement pattern of cityward migrants is also of considerable importance insofar as migration may be used as one index of mobility, because variations in mobility are frequently cited as an important factor in explaining distinctive urban phenomena. It is true that migration and mobility are usually distinguished from each other. Migration involves a change in spatial location, while mobility is defined in terms of changes in experience and social situation. Migration is used as one index of mobility on the assumption that, on the average, the migrant is more likely than the non-migrant to experience a break in routine and the challenge of new social relationships, even where his move is between similar social situations. Insofar as migration is an index of mobility, information on the pattern of settlement of migrants is significant for theories relating the distribution of certain phenomena to the distribution of mobile populations. Despite these significant implications of the distribution of migrants in the city, very