ObjectivesTo explore public perceptions and behaviours related to the risk of flavivirus and alphavirus infection in Southeastern regions of France following the recent colonisation of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, and the identification of four autochthonous cases of dengue and chikungunya fever in these regions.DesignCross-sectional telephone survey using a proportional random digit dialling selection method.SettingInterviews were conducted from 28 November 2011 to 29 January 2012 using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system.Participants1506 French speaking adults aged 18 years or older residing in French Mediterranean regions.ResultsProtective health behaviours were found to be performed less frequently among men (AOR=0.65, 95% CI 0.52% to 0.80%), residents with lower educational status (AOR=0.61, 95% CI 0.43% to 0.85% for respondents with primary school education; AOR=0.69, 95% CI 0.53% to 0.90% for those with some secondary school education), and those living in regions where the Aedes mosquito is objectively rare (AOR=0.60, 95% CI 0.36% to 0.98% for Aude; AOR=0.63, 95% CI 0.44% to 0.89% for Herault; AOR=0.56, 95% CI 0.34% to 0.93% for Eastern Pyrenees). Empirical results also suggest that behavioural responses to infection risk are greater shaped by the perceived exposure to Aedes, notably the perceived frequency of mosquito bites (AOR=2.07, 95% CI 1.84% to 2.32%) and visual identification of Aedes mosquitoes in one's immediate environment (AOR=1.98, 95% CI 1.45% to 2.71%) rather than by other common predictors of protective behaviours.ConclusionsThese findings may help with the development of innovative instruments designed to make more visible and personal the threat of flavivirus and alphavirus infections induced by the presence of A albopictus in order to promote significant behavioural changes among populations at risk.

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The determinants of modern contraceptive use in traditional populations are analysed in married women aged 30-44 living in the province of Marrakech (Morocco). Women who have never used contraception have smaller family sizes than those who do: the number of live children (or live births) is the variable with maximum predictive power on contraceptive use, while child mortality is the main inhibiting factor. The probability of contraceptive use increases with female age at marriage and decreases with the woman's age, indicating a generational change in reproductive behaviour. The socioeconomic variables education, employment and residence, have no significant independent predictive character on contraceptive use, although the interaction between education and residence does. The paper evaluates the hypothesis that traditional populations in the initial phase of their demographic transition resort to modern contraception in order to stop childbearing, when they have reached a desired number of children, rather than to space births or reduce their fertility.