ABSTRACT
Objective To study the current cases of Keshan disease aims at providing scientific and basic evidence for prevention and control of the disease. Methods In accordance with historical cases, in 2009, an investigation was conducted in the permanent resident population in seriously infected representative villages of landscapes and ways of living such as Xujialeng, Zhuping and some other adjacent villages in Wudu district, Longnan city. People in those areas were examined and carefully observed based on the scheme of Keshan disease surveillance. Then they were enquired about their medical history, given normal clinical examinations and electrocardiogram(ECG) examination, the suspected cases were chest X-rayed. At the same time, some samples of their hair of some children under 12 and adults were collected to be examined for the selenium content. Results Among the total number of 515 subjects, 20 were diagnosed with Keshan disease with a total detection rate of 3.9% (20/515), among whom 13 were potential patients with a detection rate of 2.5%( 13/515), 7 were chronic patients with a detection rate of 1.4%(7/515). In the total number of 515 ECG, 48 were found with abnormal ECG at a detection of 9.3%(48/515). In the 20 patients, the potential patients were mostly featured with incomplete right bundle-branch block(5 cases), complete right bundle-branch block(3 cases), frequent ventricular premature beat (2 cases) and left ventricle high voltage(2 cases), while the chronic patients were mostly featured with incomplete right bundle-branch block(2 cases). Of the 29 chest X-ray films, 17 cases had heart enlargement with a detection rate of 58.6%( 17/29). The selenium content in the hair of 10 adults and 10 children were (0.38±0.09), (0.31±0.12) mg/kg, respectively. Conclusion There are still existing some cases and obvious virulence factors of Keshan disease in Wudu district, Longnan city.