Ahmed Mohamed Lemine Cheikh Brahim, Weddih Abdellahi, Benhafid Mohammed, Bollahi Mohamed Abdellahi, Sidatt Mariem, Makhalla Khattry, Mokdad Ali H, Heukelbach Jorg, Filali-Maltouf Abdelkarim
Department of Biology, University Mohammed V, Rabat 10010, Morocco.
Department of Virology, National Institute of Hygiene, Rabat 10010, Morocco.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2018 Sep 17;3(3):103. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed3030103.
Diarrhea and respiratory diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among <5-year-olds worldwide, but systematic data are not available from Mauritania. We conducted a hospital-based retrospective study. Data on admissions to Mauritania's National Referral Hospital (the main pediatric referral center in the country), due to diarrhea and respiratory diseases, during 2011⁻2014, were analyzed. A total of 3695 children <5 years were hospitalized during this period; 665 (18.0%) due to respiratory diseases, and 829 (22.4%) due to diarrhea. Case fatality rates in the respiratory diseases and diarrhea groups were 18.0% (120/665) and 14.1% (117/829), respectively. The highest frequency of deaths due to diarrhea occurred in the age group 2⁻5 years (16/76; 21.0%), and due to respiratory diseases in the age group 6⁻12 months (32/141; 22.6%). We conclude that case fatality rates caused by respiratory diseases and diarrhea are extremely high in children hospitalized at the National Referral Hospital. These data call for intensified efforts to reduce deaths among hospitalized Mauritanian children, and also for integrated control measures to prevent and reduce the burden of both diseases. Additional studies are needed to show the effectiveness of the introduction of vaccination programs for pneumococcal diseases and rotavirus infection in the child population, which were launched in November 2013 and December 2014, respectively.
腹泻和呼吸道疾病是全球5岁以下儿童发病和死亡的主要原因，但毛里塔尼亚没有系统的数据。我们开展了一项基于医院的回顾性研究。分析了2011年至2014年期间因腹泻和呼吸道疾病入住毛里塔尼亚国家转诊医院（该国主要的儿科转诊中心）的相关数据。在此期间，共有3695名5岁以下儿童住院；其中665名（18.0%）因呼吸道疾病住院，829名（22.4%）因腹泻住院。呼吸道疾病组和腹泻组的病死率分别为18.0%（120/665）和14.1%（117/829）。腹泻导致的死亡最高发于2至5岁年龄组（16/76；21.0%），呼吸道疾病导致的死亡最高发于6至12月龄年龄组（32/141；22.6%）。我们得出结论，在国家转诊医院住院的儿童中，呼吸道疾病和腹泻导致的病死率极高。这些数据呼吁加大力度降低毛里塔尼亚住院儿童的死亡率，同时也需要采取综合防控措施来预防和减轻这两种疾病的负担。还需要开展更多研究，以证明分别于2013年11月和2014年12月在儿童群体中推出的肺炎球菌疾病和轮状病毒感染疫苗接种计划的有效性。
