0:00:02 > 0:00:12Now on BBC News, Health Check.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Hello, and welcome to Health Check, your monthly dose of global health
0:00:26 > 0:00:28stories, I'm Claudia Hammond. And I'm Ayan Panja.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30This month, we're looking at the most important health stories
0:00:30 > 0:00:33in the news right now.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Also coming up: The volunteers who give a parasitic worm
0:00:35 > 0:00:39a home in the name of science.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42How bugs could help to beat malnutrition in Cameroon.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45And how hiding information in an Indian necklace
0:00:45 > 0:00:52helps to save lives.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55But first, the Zika virus is spreading around the world.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59In Brazil, it appears to be linked with a rise in the number of babies
0:00:59 > 0:01:01born with brains that are too small.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03And the United States could be next.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07America's Centers for Disease Control is warning
0:01:07 > 0:01:10that the US territory of Puerto Rico is at risk of infection,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and they're tackling this threat from their headquarters in Atlanta,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18as Tulip Mazumdar reports.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21It might not look like it, but this tropical island
0:01:21 > 0:01:26is in a state of emergency.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Welcome to the front line of the US's fight against Zika.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Millions of American tourists come here every year.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35A major concern, though, is what they are taking
0:01:35 > 0:01:39back with them.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42These are the Zika transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44and it's feeding time.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48On the menu, pig's blood served at skin temperature.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53They are being bred in this lab for research into insecticides.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56These tiny creatures have been here in Puerto Rico spreading
0:01:56 > 0:01:58dengue for many centuries.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Then, a couple of years ago, they started spreading
0:02:01 > 0:02:04a new virus called Chikungunya.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08After that, at the start of this year, Zika came along with that link
0:02:08 > 0:02:13to babies being born brain-damaged.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Worryingly, the insecticides used to kill these mosquitoes
0:02:15 > 0:02:21are no longer working as well as they used to.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25These mosquitoes' are resistant to one of the most commonly used
0:02:25 > 0:02:27insecticides, which is permethrin, and permethrin is an insecticide
0:02:27 > 0:02:30which has been used in Puerto Rico but also the rest of the Americas
0:02:30 > 0:02:34for many years.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Scientists are now racing to find other chemicals
0:02:36 > 0:02:39that can kill mosquitoes.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45The insects can breed and thrive in just a few drops of water.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Permethrin might not be 100% effective, but fumigators
0:02:49 > 0:02:53are out on the streets are spraying entire neighbourhoods.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56It's the best they can do right now.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Here we are talking about if you are pregnant,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03what to do about the Zika and how to protect your baby...
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Zika isn't considered particularly harmful to most people.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Authorities are focusing on protecting pregnant women
0:03:08 > 0:03:12because of that link to babies being born
0:03:12 > 0:03:16with under-developed brains.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18This is a baby with a normal head,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20with microcephaly...
0:03:20 > 0:03:22I'm very worried, I use repellent everyday.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I woke up I put repellent, I go outside, I put repellent.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26I am very worried about this.
0:03:26 > 0:03:291500 miles away at the Centers for Disease Control's headquarters
0:03:29 > 0:03:33in Atlanta, the man who is advising
0:03:33 > 0:03:35the president on this global health emergency
0:03:36 > 0:03:38is preparing for the worst.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41In Puerto Rico, we expect that there will likely be hundreds
0:03:41 > 0:03:44of thousands of infections, and potentially hundreds
0:03:44 > 0:03:47or thousands of women who are pregnant too
0:03:47 > 0:03:49will become infected.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51What's new and different and frightening is this rate
0:03:51 > 0:03:54of birth defects, and there's a lot we don't know.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Back at the lab, scientists continue the fight
0:03:56 > 0:04:00against these bloodthirsty insects.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02They need answers fast to stop the spread of these
0:04:02 > 0:04:06potentially devastating virus.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Well, I'm joined now by Jimmy Whitworth,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13who is a professor of international public health at the London School
0:04:13 > 0:04:14of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Thank you for joining us. Hello.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20How surprised are you by the spread of the Zika virus?
0:04:20 > 0:04:23It was something that was hardly heard of six months ago.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27That absolutely true, nobody predicted that we would
0:04:27 > 0:04:31have an outbreak of Zika virus in South America.
0:04:31 > 0:04:39For at least 50 years, it was entirely within Africa.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43It then started to spread into Asia, and it was really only in the last
0:04:43 > 0:04:45few years that we have had actual outbreaks of disease
0:04:45 > 0:04:47associated with this.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52First of all in Southeast Asia, and then in French Polynesia,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55and now the biggest outbreak we've ever seen occurring in Brazil
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and surrounding countries.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00What kind of symptoms does the virus did you?
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Most of the time, this is a very mild illness.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Most people, in fact, don't even recognise that
0:05:05 > 0:05:09they've been ill.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12If they are, they usually have things like a itchy rash,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17mild fever, joint pains, muscle pains, and sometimes red eyes.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21And how confident are you that there is a link between the Zika virus
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and babies with the small head size, with microcephaly?
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Personally, I'm convinced that there's a link between Zika
0:05:27 > 0:05:30and microcephaly that we are seeing.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34In formal terms, we haven't absolutely nailed down
0:05:34 > 0:05:37the association there, but the evidence that we have
0:05:37 > 0:05:40is compelling and very strong now.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44But what we don't know and is really important is,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49what is the risk?
0:05:49 > 0:05:52We know if a person who is pregnant as Zika, what the likelihood
0:05:52 > 0:05:54is that they without a baby that is affected?
0:05:54 > 0:06:01We simply don't know if that is one in three or one in 1,000.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03When do you think the danger period is in pregnancy in terms
0:06:04 > 0:06:06of becoming infected?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Honestly, at the moment, we simply don't know.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12We suspect, from what we know of other viruses that cause similar
0:06:12 > 0:06:16birth defects that the early stages of pregnancy will be the most risky.
0:06:16 > 0:06:22But some of the research findings that we are seeing
0:06:22 > 0:06:24suggests that there is a risk right the way through pregnancy.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27That could be quite significant in terms of the public
0:06:27 > 0:06:32health advice given out.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Well, at the moment, the advice that is being given,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38say, in the UK about travelling to affected countries,
0:06:38 > 0:06:42is that women who are pregnant or even thinking of being pregnant
0:06:42 > 0:06:45should avoid travelling to those areas.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48So at the moment, it is pretty blanket advice not to travel.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Hookworms make their home in the human gut,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00and infection can cause severe disability and anaemia.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04The parasites can be treated with drugs, but doctors are trying
0:07:04 > 0:07:06to develop vaccines to avoid repeated infections.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10The trouble is that testing these vaccines in the vulnerable
0:07:10 > 0:07:14communities where hookworms thrive is difficult,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16so researchers in Washington DC are infecting volunteers,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20as Lizzie Crouch reports.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Jessica is keeping a video diary for us.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28As of tomorrow, I will have been dosed with hookworms
0:07:28 > 0:07:31for a clinical study.
0:07:31 > 0:07:37There is a definite ick factor that I've found with this study so far.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41People are not super crazy
0:07:41 > 0:07:45about the idea of 50 parasites living in my intestines.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49But to be honest, I am not freaked out about that at all.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Infecting yourself with parasites might sound odd, but this will allow
0:07:52 > 0:07:56researchers to better test hookworm vaccines.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Hookworms infect hundreds of millions of people
0:07:59 > 0:08:03around the world.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The problem in endemic areas where there is hookworm
0:08:06 > 0:08:09transmission, such as in Brazil and Africa, parts of Asia,
0:08:09 > 0:08:14is that when people are infected, these people are often vulnerable
0:08:14 > 0:08:19in terms of their nutrition, and hookworms take a blood meal.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Due to malnutrition and other variations,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27it can be hard to test a new vaccine.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30By understanding how healthy volunteers react to hookworm
0:08:30 > 0:08:37infections, the researchers can then test vaccines more accurately.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42I am on my way to go get my hookworms.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I am honestly not at all nervous, I'm really excited.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48I get to put some parasites in my arm and let them
0:08:48 > 0:08:53make their way to my intestines.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56As hookworm larvae entered through the skin, they are put
0:08:56 > 0:09:00on a patch that is then placed against the volunteer's arm.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04I just left the office, where I got dosed.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09I got kind of itchy, for sure, and it is itching.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14I can show you my arm right now, the gauze is off.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18Volunteers are being exposed to different doses of hookworm
0:09:18 > 0:09:21to see how they are tolerated.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25What we are doing now is doing increasing doses of the infective
0:09:25 > 0:09:29larvae so we can find a place, the proper dose where we get
0:09:29 > 0:09:38a good enough infection but with limited side-effects.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41This will allow the researchers to develop the first human model
0:09:41 > 0:09:42of hookworm infection to test vaccines.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45But they are also looking
0:09:45 > 0:09:49at how these parasites might work as medicine.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51So imagine if we could engineer these worms to produce things
0:09:51 > 0:09:54we wanted them to produce, like, for instance, insulin,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and we could infect a diabetic.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59These worms would sit there for years
0:09:59 > 0:10:01churning out the insulin.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03It could then help this person manage their blood sugar better.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Many different possibilities of things if we can understand how
0:10:06 > 0:10:11to make these worms work for us.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Volunteers experienced little or no side-effects and take simple
0:10:14 > 0:10:19medication after four months to get rid of their parasitic friends.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Honestly, most of the time of the past four months,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I forgot that I even had hookworms.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29I think, through me doing this, my family and friends kind of got
0:10:29 > 0:10:39a better idea also about parasites and the global impact,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46and also how doing things like this, despite the ick factor off the bat
0:10:46 > 0:10:47can be really helpful for people.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Although infecting people may sound bizarre,
0:10:49 > 0:10:50this trial could help millions.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51From those suffering from hookworm infection
0:10:51 > 0:10:53to people in need of new treatments.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54Lizzie Crouch reporting from Washington DC
0:10:54 > 0:10:56with a very brave volunteer.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Now, something to think about next time you are cleaning your home.
0:11:00 > 0:11:06Could you be wiping out good bugs as well as the bad ones?
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Can being too clean make us ill?
0:11:10 > 0:11:13When Germany was split in two, doctors noticed children living
0:11:13 > 0:11:18in Munich had more asthma and hay fever than those living in Leipzig.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21If
0:11:21 > 0:11:23After the Berlin Wall fell, cleaner lifestyles meant fewer bugs.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Children in Leipzig started to get more of these illnesses.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29This trend was seen around the world.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32More allergies and autoimmune diseases as infections decreased.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Scientists think this is because the human immune systems
0:11:35 > 0:11:38grew used to the bugs, and when we became cleaner,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41killing off many of the bugs, this made our immune system become
0:11:41 > 0:11:45overactive, sometimes even attacking the body itself.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Researchers called this the hygiene hypothesis.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Some say they prove this by infecting people
0:11:51 > 0:11:56with our old friends, the bugs, and noticed that they get better.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Such as hookworms being given to multiple sclerosis patients.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Whether or not the hygiene hypothesis turns out to be true,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06maybe kids should play outdoors more with the bugs
0:12:06 > 0:12:16to keep them healthier.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18When an earthquake hit Taiwan last month,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21more than a hundred people were killed.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Relatives and rescue workers can experience a whole range of emotions
0:12:24 > 0:12:28in the days and weeks following a quake.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Cindy Sui has been to visit the survivors from a previous quake
0:12:32 > 0:12:37in Taiwan to find out what the best way is of helping people
0:12:37 > 0:12:39deal with a natural disaster.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42An entire building complex lying on its side.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46More than 100 people were killed
0:12:46 > 0:12:50when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Tainan City in February.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54But Taiwan has seen even deadlier tremors.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58In 1999, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake destroyed or damaged
0:12:58 > 0:13:04more than 100,000 buildings and killed more than 2,400 people.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Those lucky enough to survive
0:13:07 > 0:13:10suffered the pain of losing loved ones trapped under the rubble.
0:13:10 > 0:13:17Many suffered injuries that forever changed their lives.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Before the quake, this man was looking forward
0:13:20 > 0:13:22to getting married, but a staircase collapsed on him.
0:13:22 > 0:13:29He became crippled, losing his job and his girlfriend.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31TRANSLATION: I kept asking myself, how could this happen to me?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34One day I'm walking, and the next day I'm
0:13:34 > 0:13:37in a wheelchair.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42I felt very depressed and depended on my father to take care of me.
0:13:42 > 0:13:49After my father died, I realised I had to take care of myself.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54I also felt I would be unkind to the many charity workers
0:13:54 > 0:13:57who showed concern for me if I didn't become independent again.
0:13:57 > 0:14:06He later turned to growing plants and vegetables to support himself.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Today, the same volunteers from the charity
0:14:08 > 0:14:10still visit him every month.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13This kind of community support is routinely found in Taiwan.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Studies have found that being traumatised after experiencing
0:14:17 > 0:14:19a disaster is a normal human response, and most people
0:14:19 > 0:14:25will recover without getting any professional psychological help.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28What helps many people get back on their feet
0:14:28 > 0:14:32is the need to survive, and getting some minimal practical support,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35including loans and subsidies, and more importantly
0:14:35 > 0:14:40feeling cared for by one's community and not forgotten.
0:14:40 > 0:14:49It is the best strategy to help survivors
0:14:49 > 0:14:52of natural disasters to rebuild their lives,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54an approach endorsed by the World Health Organisation.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56TRANSLATION: When faced with a disaster,
0:14:56 > 0:14:57everyone's reaction is normal.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59If you treat people's natural response as abnormal,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03that can slow down the recovery, and they can use it as an excuse
0:15:03 > 0:15:05not to recover.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08What they need are relief supplies, information about services,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10and subsidies to help them stabilise their lives.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11And more importantly, someone to listen to them
0:15:12 > 0:15:14and understand them.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19It doesn't take professionals to do that.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21After the latest deadly quake struck in Tainan City,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Taiwan used the experience it gained from previous disasters
0:15:23 > 0:15:26to help the victims.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Psychologists did not rush to the scene.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30Assistance was coordinated.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Each family was assigned one social worker or volunteer
0:15:33 > 0:15:37to help them with various needs.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38And those who lost loved ones
0:15:38 > 0:15:42were sometimes simply left alone to grieve.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48Some survivors from the 1999 earthquake, like this woman,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50who lost her home, became volunteers themselves.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55That has helped their recovery.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Mr Chen has also begun using his experience
0:15:57 > 0:16:01to motivate others, showing that, through the right kind of support,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05even those traumatised by disasters
0:16:05 > 0:16:10can replant and revitalise their lives.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18One in three children who live in Cameroon is malnourished,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21which causes stunting and ill-health.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26One nutritious source of protein is found in the African palm weevil.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28They live in raffia palms which are being cut down in large
0:16:28 > 0:16:32numbers, destroying their habitats.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Tamsin Ford has been to find out about a new sustainable way
0:16:35 > 0:16:45of farming the grubs to ensure the future of this important food.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Palm weevil grubs - the juicy little bugs that everyone is after.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51You can either eat them fried or raw.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Either way, they are a great source of protein.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57They have more unsaturated fatty acids, they are the good ones,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00and more polyunsaturated fatty acids, the really good ones,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02than either chicken or fish.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06So here in Cameroon, where one in three children
0:17:06 > 0:17:11is malnourished, these are a great source of protein.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14But demand for the grubs is outstripping supply.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Prices are soaring.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19At around $4 a cup,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23they are the most expensive meat on the market.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26It is because they are not easy to find.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29They live in raffia palms deep in the forest.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33But a new grub farming project is hoping to change that.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It is a success story,
0:17:35 > 0:17:40because first of all nobody ever knew that grubs could be farmed.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43And when we came with the idea, a local authority
0:17:43 > 0:17:48would not believe us.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50It will really change people's lives, because it will permit people
0:17:50 > 0:17:53to have more protein, and at the end of the day it
0:17:53 > 0:17:57will permit people to have a better living standards than before.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00All you need is a plastic box.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03One stem of raffia palms inside the box produces 8-10 times
0:18:03 > 0:18:09more grubs than it does in the wild.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13TRANSLATION: I go to the forest four times a month now,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17whereas before I had to go everyday.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21The boxes of grubs do not need all my attention, so it has
0:18:21 > 0:18:26given me all my time back.
0:18:26 > 0:18:32I am proud, I am proud to produce palm weevil grubs.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38Michel likes eating them raw,
0:18:38 > 0:18:43but his family prefer them after they are cooked.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46One in three children in Cameroon is stunted.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48It means they are too short for their age
0:18:48 > 0:18:50because of bad nutrition.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Tragically, after the child reaches 18 months, it is irreversible.
0:18:54 > 0:19:01Cognitive and physical abilities are affected permanently.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04TRANSLATION: If all children ate the palm weevil grubs,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06there would be no more malnutrition.
0:19:06 > 0:19:12Because the grubs are classified as the animals
0:19:12 > 0:19:16with the most protein, malnutrition could disappear.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19This is just a pilot project in three small villages,
0:19:19 > 0:19:24but its success means it could be used across sub-Saharan Africa,
0:19:24 > 0:19:30potentially changing the lives of future generations.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38Around 1.5 million children around the world die every year
0:19:38 > 0:19:45from diseases which could be prevented through vaccination,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48such as measles and pneumonia.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50The WHO wants to get 90% of children vaccinated,
0:19:50 > 0:19:55but some countries lag behind, such as India, with rates under 60%.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58But in a rural project in Rajasthan, they are reminding parents
0:19:58 > 0:20:05of the importance of jabs.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07We've been finding out how combining tradition and technology has created
0:20:07 > 0:20:13a wearable solution.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16They call her Gudiya, a name given to so many infants
0:20:16 > 0:20:19in this remote part of Rajasthan, but this Gudiya is lucky.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23The eight-month-old has had all the required immunisations
0:20:23 > 0:20:28for her age, and so far she is healthy and happy.
0:20:28 > 0:20:311.5 million children die every year from vaccine preventable diseases
0:20:31 > 0:20:36around the world.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39India has one of the lowest vaccine coverage rates, just 50-60%
0:20:39 > 0:20:43of children are immunised, well below the WHO's 90% target.
0:20:43 > 0:20:49TRANSLATION: Vaccines were not available here in the past,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51but now they are.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53They help so much to protect children and entire
0:20:53 > 0:20:54families from diseases.
0:20:54 > 0:21:04And so the child can grow.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07The reason why families have and always got their children
0:21:07 > 0:21:12vaccinated are complicated.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15They might live in a rural area, days away from a clinic.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18They might not have been told about the benefits.
0:21:18 > 0:21:18Some simply don't understand.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21But this, based on traditional jewellery worn by infants,
0:21:21 > 0:21:22could be the answer.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Local mothers were involved in the design of this necklace.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31It is similar to those worn by infants in parts of India.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Known as Khushi Baby, or happy baby, a computer chip
0:21:35 > 0:21:37embedded in the pendant stores vaccination data,
0:21:37 > 0:21:43along with her mother's health records.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48The health worker then takes the Khushi Baby pendant and touches
0:21:48 > 0:21:51it to the back of the tablet, which enables the information
0:21:51 > 0:21:55to sync and get stored into the chip that is in the pendant.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58So the next time when the baby comes to the camp, all the health worker
0:21:58 > 0:22:02needs to do is scan the pendant, and all the information
0:22:02 > 0:22:05that had been entered previously is available, and the health worker
0:22:05 > 0:22:09is able to tell which vaccine is due for the child and when.
0:22:09 > 0:22:131,500 babies are already in the Khushi Baby system,
0:22:13 > 0:22:18and initial data is showing improved vaccination rates.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23Health workers hope to scale up the project
0:22:23 > 0:22:27a
0:22:27 > 0:22:29to include all one million people in Rajasthan's health programme.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Well, that is all we have time for this month.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34But don't forget, you can catch Claudia's radio programme
0:22:34 > 0:22:35on the BBC World Service.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38And you can follow all the stories online by going to the BBC website.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41From now, it is goodbye from me, from Claudia and the rest
0:22:41 > 0:22:46of the Health Check team. Goodbye.