Acute respiratory tract infection: A community-based intervention study in Malaysia

A community-based intervention trial was conducted in Kelantan, Malaysia with the aim of reducing severe acute respiratory tract (ARI) infection in children. Interventions included health education of mothers on childhood pneumonia and training of health staff on case management. In a house-to-house survey 1382 and 1107 children less than 5 years of age in the intervention and control areas, respectively, were followed up every 2 weeks over a 62-week period. The reduction in the incidence of severe ARI cases in the intervention area was significantly greater than in the control area (P<0.05). The ARI mortality rates were low in both the intervention and control areas (<0.1%). Our results indicate that with relatively inexpensive methods and simple interventions, reduction of severe ARI may be effectively achieved. This has important implications for an ARI control programme in Malaysia and other developing countries.