Lindtjørn B, Alemu T, Bjorvatn B
Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, Norway.
Scand J Infect Dis. 1992;24(3):369-77. doi: 10.3109/00365549209061345.
We describe the incidence of some childhood infections in drought prone areas of southern Ethiopia. Our results are based on 24 months' biweekly observations of 828 children aged 0-5 years in the pastoralist community of Dubluk and the agricultural community of Elka. An average of 23% of the children in Dubluk and 13% in Elka were sick during any 2-week period. Diarrhoeal diseases represented the main cause of morbidity, but the yearly number of diarrhoeal episodes were lower than previously reported from Ethiopia. Respiratory tract infections and to a lesser extent diarrhoeal diseases, showed highest incidence rates during the main dry season. The highest incidence of lower respiratory tract infections coincided with an outbreak of measles. In Dubluk, children who lived near to the wells had higher incidence rates than those who lived further away, probably reflecting the importance of crowding on transmission rates. In Elka, literacy of mothers was associated with reduced incidence of both diarrhoeal and respiratory tract infections, whereas the use of open pit latrines was associated with increased diarrhoeal incidence. The decline in disease incidence in this region during the last months of our study may reflect an improvement of nutritional status.
我们描述了埃塞俄比亚南部干旱易发地区一些儿童感染疾病的发病率。我们的研究结果基于对杜布鲁克游牧社区和埃尔卡农业社区中828名0至5岁儿童进行的为期24个月的双周观察。在任何两周期间，杜布鲁克平均有23%的儿童患病，埃尔卡为13%。腹泻病是发病的主要原因，但腹泻发作的年次数低于埃塞俄比亚此前报告的数字。呼吸道感染以及程度较轻的腹泻病在主要旱季发病率最高。下呼吸道感染的最高发病率与麻疹疫情同时出现。在杜布鲁克，住在水井附近的儿童发病率高于住得较远的儿童，这可能反映了人群聚集对传播率的影响。在埃尔卡，母亲的识字水平与腹泻和呼吸道感染发病率的降低有关，而使用露天厕所则与腹泻发病率的增加有关。在我们研究的最后几个月里，该地区疾病发病率的下降可能反映了营养状况的改善。
