Seasonal variation in acute diarrhoea in children in two village communities in Burma

639 under-five children at Htaukkyant villages in 1979-80, and over 700 under five children at Intakaw villages in 1982-83, were followed up by daily diarrhoea surveillance and monthly anthropometry for a duration of one year. There was a definite seasonality for acute diarrhoea, the incidence rates during the monsoon months being significantly higher than those during the winter months. Bacterial agents, especially enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, were the most common pathogens for acute diarrhoea during monsoon, and rotavirus was the most common pathogen detected during winter. Presumably, because of the cytopathic effect of rotavirus, children who developed diarrhoea during winter had smaller gain in body weights per month than those who developed diarrhoea during monsoon (being most commonly associated with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli).

Injury in road traffic accidents

A total of 1,516 victims of road traffic accidents that attended the Casualty Department of Rangoon General Hospital, during the one-year period, 1st October 1969 to 30th September 1970 were studied in respect of the type of accident with the resulting nature of injuries to various parts of the body in different category of road users involved. It was observed that out of 1,516 road users, 24.8 per cent were under the age of 15 years, 65.2 per cent were in age group 15-54 and 10 per cent above 55 years. Taking all the accidents males were involved 2.7 times more than females. The largest category of road users injured and died in road traffic accidents were pedestrians followed by car occupants, pedal cyclists and trishaw riders and motor cyclists. Students, preschool childrenand manual labourers, are at high risks in road traffic accidents. Head injury was the commonest form of injury seen, followed by injury of leg, arm and chest injuries. 40 per cent of fatally injured cases died at the spot of accident and apporximately 60 per cent died within 12 hours after arrival to hospital.

Epidemiology of road traffic accidents in Rangoon

A total of 2,849 road traffic accidents which occurred in Rangoon during the one year period between October I, 1969 and September 30, 1970 were studied in respect of the road user, the vehicle and the road system and its environment. Of all the road accidents, 114 (+ per cent) were fatal, 157 (5.5 per cent) involved badly injured cases and 666 (23.4 per cent} suffered minor injuries. The rest (1,912) were non-casualty accidents where only damage to vehicle, road, etc., was involved. Collision of two or more vehicles constituted the largest group in all types of road traffic accidents (55.4 per cent). The largest category of road users involved was the pedestrian 47.1 per cent) with a highest percentage of fatality (59.6 per cent) of all road accidental deaths. Human error was the major contributory factor to road accidents. Human failure on the part of the drivers of various vehicles accounted for 67.4 per cent of all road traffic accidents, whereas the other road users were responsible for 12.1 per cent of the total number of accidents. Speeding was a major contributory factor in 23.9 per cent of all the collisions studied. Nearly 80 per cent of the accidents occurred during 0800 to 2000 hours with two main peaks, between 0800 to 1000 hours (13.8 per cent) and between 1800 to 2000 hours (154 per cent). The road conditions and other miscellaneous factors contributed to 9.9 per cent of all the accidents.

Chromomycosis (Case report)

A 56 year old male with a warty skin involvement of the right leg by a case of Chromomycosis (Chromoblastomycosis) of about 10 years duration, had improved greatly under a combination of bed rest with elevation of the involved leg, surgery and achromycin, systemically and topically.