Japanese Encephalitis

Today we got our second to last set of shots, the Japanese Encephalitis shot. It is a $261 (plus another $261) shot that I would say is well worth it! Though many may think is too costly, I know I certainly do, Japanese Encephalitis is something I rather not get while I am in India.
Japanese Encephalitis is a serious infection caused by a virus which is spread by the bite of an infected mosquitoes.

Bylakuppe is a very humid place, especially during the summer, during the monsoon. It is a rural community where mosquitoes are highly populated. Although it can be avoided to some extent by repellents, long clothing, and staying in screened areas it is hard to avoid for nearly 4 months.

A person who is infected by Japanese Encephalitis can have no symptoms while others will have raging fever, headache or severe encephalitis (brain infection). Symptoms of encephalitis are fever, neck stiffness, changes in consciousness, or coma. Approximately 1 in 4 people who are infected with encephalitis dies and of those that don't die, half suffer permanent brain damage. The shot is recommended to any travelers to Asia who spend at least a month in areas where Japanese Encephalitis occurs, those who are going to be engaging in outdoor activities or where there have been outbreaks. Considering that I will be working on rural farms in Bylakuppe (Southern India) where Japanese Encephalitis risk is high I found it worth the cost.

My sister-in-law's father suffered from encephalitis. I don't know much other than he wasn't really there in the head. One day last November he was taking a walk and crossed the street at an undesignated spot. A 20 year old girl hit him and killed him instantly. I don't want to be that crazy person that crossed the street at the wrong spot because I didn't know any better and even more importantly I don't want to cause a 20 year old girl, or anyone for that matter, to have to suffer the image or what happened like with my sister-in-law's father.

Subsistence and Rural Livelihood

Fischer, Andrew M.. “Subsistence and Rural Livelihood Strategies in Tibet under Rapid Economic and Social Transition”. Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies. 4 (Dec 2008).

This article discusses the role of subsistence in the livelihood strategies of rural Tibetan households during rapid economic and social transition. Fischer argues that subsistence is highly valued in these rural communities because it provides a choice. First, this is observed through “subsistence capacity” and income poverty and asset wealth. Second, Fischer relates that many rural Tibetans rely on low wage manual jobs despite the fact that this kind of work is used for a transition out of agriculture and low levels of education.

By observing the first paradox Fischer is able to account for not only physical wealth but also the aspects of wealth that are difficult to capture through conventional measures. He looks at wealth in terms of being able to subsist in household production. In one graph it shows the per capital rural household incomes. It appears that Tibet is fairly well off but in reality the graph does not account for inflation. Once again when looking at agriculture productivity it seems as though Tibet is above the national average but when you look at output to worker they fall far behind the national average. Conclusions show that low wage jobs are not worth it for small families because inflation will continue because of the rise of the nearby privileged public job sector. For my project I am curious how much economy affects the wages of Bylakuppe farmers. Do the farm workers tend to be of lower income families? What kind of wages do they make? How important is their job to them? How often are they finding new help?

Bhatia, Jagdish C.. ” Levels and Causes of Maternal Mortality in Southern India.” Studies in Family Planning. 24. 5. (1993): 310-318

The purpose of this article is to study maternal mortality both in the home and the hospital. The study combines health- facility records, field surveys, and case control studies to get a more accurate statistic. In counties like India many deaths are not in a hospital therefore you have to go beyond just hospital statistics. This study observed that there were 7.98 maternal deaths per 1,000 live births and approximately half were in the home or on the way to the hospital. The analysis of this study reveals that many of the field survey and case- control studies could have been prevented.

This article was beneficial in understanding that mothers in Southern India in rural communities are more likely to die within their home because the lack of nearby hospitals. In a table correlating age with deaths in rural and urban communities the overall death rate is higher in rural communities. This makes me wonder how common it is to self treat in the home in rural communities verses urban. Is it more likely for women to self treat or men? Equal? At what point of injury or pain do rural community individuals go to the hospital?