Frequency and Characteristics of Common Infectious Disease Among Children under 5 Years Old Presenting at Giza Family Health Center during 2013

Background: Communicable disease epidemiology is closely linked to pathogen ecology, environmental and social determinants, economic factors, as well as the state of country development. Objectives: This study was conducted to measure the frequency, seasonal variations and the characteristics of common infectious diseases among children under 5 years old at Giza FHC during 2013. Patient and Methods: Data was collected from files of 2635 children included in the study. Data was statistically described and correlated with each other. Result: The history of infectious diseases in the present study was recorded in 86.4% of the total records of children under 5 years in the family health care center. The most prevalent types of infectious diseases in recent study were upper respiratory tract infections (29.5%) and oro-pharyngeal infections (19.7%) followed by skin infections (12.7%). Parental employment, income and particularly work status of the mother have been found to be associated with the occurrence of infectious diseases in childhood. Also, the parents with higher level of education had children with fewer infectious diseases compared with parents with less education. Conclusion: The present study had identified a high prevalence of infectious diseases among under-fives. It also pointed out various sociodemographic and environmental modifiable risk factors which can be tackled by effective education of the community. Recommendation: The study recommended further studies in Egypt in many PHC centers to determine the most prevalent infectious diseases among children under 5 years old and to achieve proper health education programs as a trial for prevention.