Childhood diarrhoea in rural Nigeria. I. Studies on prevalence, mortality and socio-environmental factors.

This population-based study was conducted to determine the prevalence, mortality, and socio-environmental determinants of diarrhoeal diseases in children less than 5-years of age in a rural area of Akoko North, Ondo State, Nigeria. A total of 856 households with children less than 5-years old were randomly selected for the questionnaire and observational investigations. A two-week prevalence rate of the diseases among the children was 8.1%. The rate was highest among children 0-11 months old and slightly higher among the boys than girls. The infant mortality rate was 102/1000 and the mortality rate in less than 5-year old children was 62.1/1000 in the area. The majority of these deaths took place in the homes and health centres and were never reported. Social and environmental factors including dirty feeding bottles and utensils, inadequate disposal of faeces and household refuse, and poor storage of drinking water were found to be significantly related to the high incidence of the diseases. Educational interventions recommended for the control of the disease focused on these factors.