[Forms of care and children's infections. 2. Consequences and possibilities for intervention].

t may be calculated that between one fourth and one third of all infectious illnesses in preschool children in Denmark can be attributed to care in day care centres. A series of socially stressing problems have been demonstrated for parents with work outside the home in connection with care of their sick children. There is no evidence that children with many recurrent infections early in the preschool age become more resistant to infection with increasing age. On the contrary there is evidence that recurring middle ear infections and respiratory infections in childhood may have chronic sequelae and may possibly predispose to allergic disease. From a community medical standpoint, there is no doubt that day care centres are of importance in the spread of infection e.g. influenza epidemics in the adult population. On this basis, indications are found to attempt to institute measures which can reduce sickness in day care centres. Apart from prohibition of smoking, it is not clear whether improved indoor atmospheric conditions will improve the resistance in children. More restrictive turning away of children with very slight symptoms of colds is probably of limited value, whereas more prolonged convalescence for the individual child would probably reduce the number of children with recurrent infections. This necessitates a considerable number of days of care at home for parents with sick children. Intensified microbiological hygiene should be the central measure in intervention. This necessitates improved microbiological training of the staffs of day care centres. Children should be out-of-doors to a greater extent and the space should be increased.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)