Acute respiratory infection in children: a survey in the rural community.

The prevalence of Acute Respiratory Infections was 7.6% in a total of 10,951 children below 5 yrs surveyed. The annual incidence was estimated to be 2.6 episodes per child. The prevalence was highest in the 6 months--2 yrs of age. Majority of the episodes were mild in nature (86.2%), while only 1.7% episodes were severe in nature. A substantial number of episodes (27.3%) did not receive any treatment. There was no association between the severity of ARI episodes and the treatment received. Registered medical practitioners were the main source of treatment. Far distance of the hospital was the reason for not receiving any treatment among untreated cases. The outcome was better in those episodes treated by a qualified MBBS doctor, as compared to other sources of treatment.