No abstract

The gradual and continuing spread of HIV and the striking lack of change in sexual behaviour in this rural population suggest that the low-cost district intervention package does not appear to be adequate to stem the growth of the epidemic, and more intensive AIDS control efforts are needed.

In the context of the Demographic and Health Surveys program (DHS), data were collected on diarrhoeal diseases in childhood and related treatment patterns. In this paper we assess the accuracy and completeness of mothers' recall of diarrhoea in 19 national DHS surveys and discuss the implications for health interview surveys in developing countries. It is concluded that there is under-reporting of diarrhoea if the recall period is longer than 2-3 days, whereas there may be over-reporting of very recent or current diarrhoea in most DHS surveys. Reporting errors appear to vary considerably between countries, which affects the comparability of survey results. A second and related issue, that is addressed in this paper, is the reporting of treatment practices by duration of diarrhoeal episode. There were no major differences in reported treatment patterns between children with diarrhoea that terminated in the last two weeks and children with current diarrhoea of at least two days' duration. The implications of the findings for retrospective surveys on childhood morbidity and treatment patterns are discussed.

This study documents the existence of very substantial HIV prevalence and incidence differences within a small geographic rural area. The rapid decrease in HIV prevalence within a small rural area emphasizes the importance of concentrating HIV prevention efforts on high transmission areas, such as trading centers, especially in resource-poor settings. Furthermore, this has considerable implications for monitoring the spread of HIV through sentinel sites, as such sites are typically located in high transmission areas.