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these other infections i n t he devel oping countries as they are
very infrequently mentioned. It is more likely that they will
be the l ess important causes for puerperal morbidity and
mortality in these count ries.
Incidental infections:
Marked differences exist i n t he t ype s of t he i nc i de nt al
puerperal i nfections r eported in developed a nd developing
co untries, which ref lect the prevailing environmental a nd
social condi tions in these two worlds. Tetanus for example was
reported as a puerperal complications i n 5 SUbjects i n Zaria
[ 8] , and in one case in Me nou f i a , Egypt [10], but has not once
been reported i n the numerous articles reviewed from developed
countries [41-42).
Other important infections whi ch co ntribute to puerperal
tnrecef c ue morbidity and mortality particularly i n the trop i c s
are viral he pa t i t i s [108-110), bacterial meningitis f6J and
tuberculosis [5]. Although, at present there are l i t t l e
supporting data, i t is very likely t hat the higher prevalence
of e nd emic infectious diseases may r e s u l t i n g reater
propo r tions o f i ncidental puerperal infections i n developing
wor ld women t h an t he l ow proport ions reported i n industrial­
i sed nations.
Because many of these endemic i nfections ar-e associated
wi th f e ver i t is a l s o l i k e l y that a h i g he r incidence of fever