Cohort Profile: Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Mirzapur, Tangail, Bangladesh
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The Mirzapur Health and Demographic Surveillance System (MHDSS), established in 2007 in Tangail, Bangladesh, systematically monitors population and health dynamics across 10 unions, covering 316,628 individuals as of 2022. It collects longitudinal data on vital events, including births, deaths, migrations, and immunizations, every four months, with socio-economic updates every five years. Unique to the MHDSS is its integration of an Infectious Disease Surveillance (IDS) program, which evaluates the burden of invasive diseases in under-five year old children every week through community, hospital, and laboratory data linkage.
The surveillance area spans predominantly rural terrain with a subtropical climate and includes good healthcare infrastructure, anchored by the Kumudini Women’s Medical College and Hospital. Data collection employs an Android-based system for real-time updates, ensuring high-quality and accessible data. Over the years, MHDSS has generated pivotal findings, including declining birth rates, and reduced neonatal and child mortality. It has facilitated research on newborn care, vaccine impacts, respiratory diseases, and environmental health.
Data is available for collaborative research through CHRF’s Data Center upon request. Future plans include expanding analyses of non-communicable diseases, mental health, and the impacts of urbanization and climate change on health outcomes.
Key Features
The Mirzapur Health and Demographic Surveillance System (MHDSS) was established in 2007 to continuously monitor population and health dynamics.
As of 2022, it covers a population of 316,628 individuals across 81,296 households, with 99% participation rate.
Vital events such as pregnancies, births, deaths, migrations, and immunizations of children under five, are collected every four months, while socio-economic data are updated every five years by trained female data collectors.
The Infectious Disease Surveillance program embedded within MHDSS evaluates trends in infectious diseases and impacts of immunizations in children under five years of age and integrates community health data with hospital and laboratory findings for comprehensive analysis.
Cohort data are accessible for collaborative research via the Child Health Research Foundation Data Center ( info@chrfbd.org ), subject to project description and approval.
