The magnitude and distribution of infectious intestinal disease in Malta

AuthorsCharmaine Gauci MD., MPH., Ph.D
H Gilles
S O'Brien
Julian Mamo MD.
Isabel Stabile LRCP., MRCS., FRCOG., Ph.D
F M Ruggeri
N Calleja MD
A Gatt
G Spiteri
AbstractRoutine sources of information on infectious intestinal disease (IID) capture a fraction of the actual disease burden. Population studies are required to measure the burden of illness. A retrospective age-stratified cross-sectional telephone study was carried out in Malta in order to estimate the magnitude and distribution of IID at population level. A random sample of 3504 persons was interviewed by a structured questionnaire between April 2004 and December 2005. The response rate was 99.7%. From the study, the observed standardized monthly prevalence was 3.18% (95% CI 0.7-5.74) with 0.421 (95% CI 0.092-0.771) episodes of IID per person per year. The monthly prevalence was higher in the <5 years age group and in females aged 31-44 years. The mean duration of illness was 6.8 days and a median duration of 3 days. A bimodal seasonal distribution was observed with peaks in June-July and October-November.

Published in:
JournalEpidemiol Infect.
Volume
Pages1 - 8
Date15/01/2007
Key wordsdisease burden, infectious intestinal disease, prevalence, seasonal distribution

Compiled by: Dr. I. Stabile    Dr. J. Pace