[Acute intestinal diseases in Northern Africa]

Analysis of morbidity of dysentery and the rest diarrheal affections according to the books for primary recording of patients at one of the large administrative territories of the Northern Africa showed that official statistics reflected only 1/13 of dysentery patients who applied for medical aid (18.2 and 236.3 per 100 000 residents, respectively). Morbidity index of the rest of diarrheal affections constituted 2424.5 per 100 000. The mean lethality in diarrhea affections (including dysentery) was 1.7%. The fact that in the examination of 439 persons who came in contact with the patients suffering from typhoid fever the causative agents of dysentery were isolated in 19 (4.3%) indicated their wide circulation among the population.