[Household survey of diarrhoeal disease control in P.R. china]

126,965 population, including 10,987 children less than 5 years in 20 provinces were visited, and 7,681 cases due to diarrhoea, including 1 800 cases less than 5 years were found during the survey in Aug 1988. According to the calculating methods recommended by WHO, the morbidity is 0.70 episodes/person/per year in China, 1.90 episodes/per child/per year in children less than 5 years. The highest morbidity, 2.44 episodes/per child/per year, is in the age group from 6 months to 2 years. 37.86% of all cases went to health facilities, among them 62.24% were treated in village health facilities. 63.36% of all cases received treatment. The use rate of ORT was 14.24%, including 1.98% of using ORS and 12.26% of using home fluids. The use rate of antibiotics was 55.16%. The use rate of traditional medicine was 8.07%. From Sep 1987 to Aug 1988, there were 605 deaths in 102,470 population. The death rate was 5.9 per 1,000 population. With 15 deaths due to diarrhoea, the mortality of diarrhoea was 0.002% 76.18% of 1,247 children under 7 months were breast-fed, and 19.49% of them were partially breast-fed, and 4.33% of them were bottle-fed. The result of the survey indicates that diarrhoeal disease is a major constraints to people's health and social development, and the character of high morbidity and low mortality determines that the strategy of diarrhoeal diseases Control will be prevention, and the situation of low ORT use rate and abuse of antibiotics should be improved, and it should be emphasized to train health workers of village facilities.