Rickets is not a new disease to Egypt. Its existence dates back to ancient times. Drawings in old Egyptian tombs show that rickets existed in the times of the Pharaohs (Ruffer, 1921). Until recently (Dicks, 1922) the disease was considered to be rare in Egypt. Shawki (1928), however, demonstrated that rickets is prevalent in this country. Nearly 50 per cent. of all Egyptian infants between the ...

This study assessed the frequency of and rationale for use of injections at health care facilities in Egypt based on WHO core drug use indicators. We reviewed 1406 prescriptions in 43 randomly selected hospitals and primary health care clinics in 2 governorates in Upper and Lower Egypt in 2001. Patients received an injection at 18.1% of encounters. The most frequently prescribed parenteral drug...

We examined the risk of infant mortality among low-birth-weight children (< 2500 g) controlling for other risk factors of infant mortality. We used survival regression analysis on 11,361 childbirths in the 5 years preceding the 2000 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. Higher birth order; shorter birth interval; lack of prenatal care, safe sources of drinking-water and hygienic toilet facilitie...

This cross-sectional study examined potential demand-side barriers to women's use of basic health services in rural southern Egypt (Upper Egypt). Face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire were carried out on 205 currently-married women, inquiring about their use of health facilities: regular antenatal care (ANC) during the last pregnancy and medical treatment services when they su...

This qualitative study investigated the influence of family support on women's health-seeking behavior in rural southern Egypt (Upper Egypt). We carried out separate focus group discussions (FGDs) with 3 groups (6 women with children under 5 years old, 6 men, and 4 elderly women, respectively) in a village in Assiut Governorate, an underprivileged region in Upper Egypt. The FGDs aimed to identi...

UNLABELLED Despite having the highest hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in the world, the ongoing level of HCV incidence in Egypt and its drivers are poorly understood. Whereas HCV mother-to-child infection is a well-established transmission route, there are no estimates of HCV infections resulting from vertical transmission for any country, including Egypt. The aim of this study was to estima...