Morbidity patterns among under-five children in a rural community in Sudan

This paper presents preliminary findings about morbidity observed in a prospective epidemiological study in a village community near Khartoum during 1977-1979. A total of 293 under-five children in 310 households were followed up for two years. Each household was visited twice monthly and information of the disease pattern was collected. Cough, fever and diarrhoea were found to be the commonest cause of morbidity. The average incidence being 296, 292 and 217 episodes respectively per 100 children per year. Vomiting, skin disease and conjunctivitis occurred at a much lower rate. Measles was observed in 14% of children under one year of age. The incidence of whooping cough was low an no outbreak occurred during the two years of observation. The seasonality of various diseases, their severity and age distribution is discussed and compared over the two year period.