Prevalence of infections among 6-16 years old children attending a semi-rural school in Western Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Background: Infections are an important cause of morbidity in rural India. Reports on the prevalence of infections in older children and their effects on growth are scarce. Objective: The objectives were to determine the prevalence of common infections among 6-16 year old school-children in a semi-rural setting in Western India and to assess the influence of infections on the growth status of the children. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a semi-rural setting in a Zilla Parishad Primary School, Karegaon, Maharashtra. 802 children (boys = 439), 6-16 years of age were assessed. Data on height, weight and infectionrelated symptoms reported by children (pre-tested, validated questionnaire) were collected. K-means cluster analysis was used to create three clusters based on the severity of infections, and one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc Tukey’s multiple comparisons was used to test the significance of differences in means of various characteristics of the subjects in three clusters. Results: 43% boys and 49% girls reported symptoms of respiratory tract infections occasionally, and 28% boys and 27% girls complained of gastrointestinal
(GI) infections occasionally. Children with more severe infections were more likely to be shorter and lighter; this was more marked in girls. Conclusions: Rural school-going children (aged 6-16 years) suffer from high rates of infections, mainly upper respiratory tract infections followed by GI tract infections.