OBJECTIVES Policymakers face many decisions when considering public financing for health, including the kind of health interventions to include in a publically financed package. The consequences of these choices will influence health outcomes as well as the financial risk protection provided to different segments of the population. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the size and distrib...

Acute diarrhoeal disease or gastroenteritis continues to be a significant clinical problem throughout the world. As a major cause of hospitalization and child deaths globally, the diarrhoeal diseases account for approximately one in six deaths among children younger than five years. In India about 334 000 annual deaths among children are attributable to diarrhoeal diseases (Parashar et al., 200...

Diarrhoeal diseases are still a major challenge in Nepal because of inadequate safe water supply, poor sanitation and living conditions. However, several other factors such as the literacy rate, socio-economic status, and social, religious or personal perception of the cause of disease may influence the rate of morbidity and mortality of diarrhoeal diseases. A yearly minimum death of 30,000 and...

The effects of oral rehydration fluid alone and of oral rehydration fluid plus breast feeding on the course and outcome of acute diarrhoea were assessed in two groups of 26 children aged under 2 years. Children who continued to be breast fed during treatment with oral rehydration solutions passed significantly fewer diarrhoeal stools. They also passed, on average, a smaller volume of diarrhoeal...

Despite improved case management, diarrhoeal diseases still account for an estimated 23 % of all deaths among children aged 0-4 years (World Health Organization (WHO), 1995~). Diarrhoeal diseases are largely confined to developing countries and, given their very limited health budgets (typically < US $5/person per year), it is essential to identify cost-effective strategies for disease preventi...

Probiotics have been suggested to be of use in many diarrhoeal disorders, particularly in the prophylaxis and treatment of infectious diarrhoea. Several different preparations are available commercially and they are widely used but consistent scientific documentation of their efficacy is lacking. Although their putative mode of action is not known, non-pathogenic organisms may prevent or displa...

OBJECTIVES Previous studies indicate a high burden of diarrhoeal disease in Vietnamese children, however longitudinal community-based data on burden and aetiology are limited. The findings from a large, prospective cohort study of diarrhoeal disease in infants in southern Vietnam are presented herein. METHODS Infants were enrolled at birth in urban Ho Chi Minh City and a semi-rural district i...

AIMS To assess the effect of several measures of infant feeding on diarrhoeal disease, and whether these effects vary according to markers of social deprivation. METHODS Case-control study of diarrhoeal disease cases presenting to 34 general practices in England. Controls were stratified on age group, area deprivation index for the practice, and whether or not the practice was in London. Data...

Inadequate measures of water quality have been used in many studies of the health effects associated with water supplies in developing countries. The present 1-year epidemiological-microbiological study evaluated four bacterial indicators of tropical drinking-water quality (faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci and faecal streptococci) and their relationship to the prevalence of diarr...