[Evaluation of the health status of 0-to-4-year-old children in an urban community of Abidjan]

During summer 1985 a survey was realized in an administrative territorial division of Abidjan (2 M. residents) in Ivory Coast. Four thousand households were randomly selected (EPI*/WHO model) including 653 children, from 0 to 4 years old. Mothers were interviewed and children examined. Seventeen per cent of children were below the weight curve standardised for Ivory Coast, 8% had a ratio arm diameter on head diameter lower or level of 0.27 and 54% a ratio between 0.28 and 0.31. Diarrhoea was noted among 10% of children, bronchopneumopathy among 44.7%, rhinitis among 53.6% and otitis 15.4%. The interview of mothers confirmed these results; in addition it appeared that 3% of children have had measles in the preceding month. The diarrhoeas and ORL infections prevalence is linked with the lack of drinking water at home, the IRA prevalence with community habitat; ORL infections are more frequent among children from illiterate mothers. The authors think that an amelioration of this situation is possible only by socio-economic progress for families (the work over lunch generalisation would be already an important progress) and putting the specific accent on measles immunization (the incidence rate of measles didn’t changed since 1978 in spite of EPI application).