Acute respiratory infections in Mexican rural communities.

This study describes the epidemiology of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in a sample of rural population of México. The study includes 137 communities from all over the country: 51 with 5001 to 15000. In each community ten families with one child under one year of age were followed. Each family was child under one year of age were followed. Each family was visited weekly by one physician from the local IMSS-COPLAMAR clinic in order to register frequency and characteristics of ARI in each family member. We followed 1359 families and observed 4796.9 persons-year. Eight thousand and two episodes of ARI were observed. The relative risk of getting ARI in children below two years of age was 2.8 and in severe malnourished was 1.8. The frequency of ARI was higher in large communities than in small ones. Eight six point eight percent of the episodes were upper respiratory infections, 95.3 percent of the cases cured, 4.6 became chronic and there were four deaths. Mortality rate was 0.8 per 1000 persons-year. Sixty nine point eight percent of the cases received antithermics, 49.3 percent antihistaminics and, 48.6 percent antibiotics.