The magnitude and distribution of infectious intestinal disease in Malta : a population-based study

Abstract

Routine sources of information on infectious intestinal disease (IID) capture a fraction of the actual disease burden. Population studies are required to measure the burden of illness. A retrospective age-stratified cross-sectional telephone study was carried out in Malta in order to estimate the magnitude and distribution of IID at population level. A random sample of 3504 persons was interviewed by a structured questionnaire between April 2004 and December 2005. The response rate was 99·7%. From the study, the observed standardized monthly prevalence was 3·18% (95% CI 0·7–5·74) with 0·421 (95% CI 0·092–0·771) episodes of IID per person per year. The monthly prevalence was higher in the <5 years age group and in females aged 31–44 years. The mean duration of illness was 6·8 days and a median duration of 3 days. A bimodal seasonal distribution was observed with peaks in June–July and October–November.