PREVALENCE OF ACUTE AND PERSISTENT DIARRHOEA IN NORTH GONDAR ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Objectives: A study was conducted to determine the magnitude of dysentery and persistentdiarrhoea in children aged under-five.Design: A cross-sectional community- based survey was used to enroll the under-fivechiidren. A two-stage random sampling technique was applied to identify the householdswith under-five children.Setting: The study was conducted from March to May 1997 in two districts of North GondarAdministrative Zone that is located in northwest Ethiopia Two urban dwellers associationsand twelve peasant associations were covered by the study.Subjects: A total of 1101 under-five children were involved.Main outcome measures: Bloody diarrhoea and diarrhoea that persisted for fourteen days ormore were the main outcome variables.Results: One hundred and ninety seven (18%) of the under five children had diarrhoealattacks within two-week recall period. Sixty five (33%) of these had persistent diarrhoea.The prevalence of persistent diarrhoea was 6%. Of those who had diarrhoea, forty four(22.3%) had dysentery. Access to protected water source was significantly lower in childrenwith diarrhoeal diseases than without ( ~ 2 = 431, p4.05). Significantly a higher number ofchildren with diarrhoea had recent attacks of diarrhoea than those without diarrhoea(x2=176.82, p4.00001).Conclusions: A particularly high prevalence of dysentery and persistent diarrhoea wasobserved. Establishment of a simple surveillance system and taking of control measures toreduce the burden of dysentery is recommended