Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

The data indicate that two percent of children
had symptoms of ARI in the two weeks preceding the
survey. Differentials in the prevalence of ARI by
background characteristics are minimal; however, it
is worth noting that the prevalence of ARI symptoms
is slightly higher among children age 12-23 months,
among children living in urban areas, among children
living in Lautem, and among children of mothers
who have more than secondary education.
Seven in ten children with symptoms of ARI
(71 percent) were taken to a health facility or
provider, and 45 percent were prescribed antibiotics
(data not shown).
11.5 FEVER
Fever is a symptom of malaria and other
acute infections in children. Malaria and other
illnesses that cause fever contribute to high levels of
malnutrition and mortality. Although fever can occur
year-round, malaria is more prevalent after the end of
the rainy season. For this reason, temporal factors
must be taken into account when interpreting fever as
an indicator of malaria prevalence. Because malaria
is one of the major causes of death in infancy and
childhood in many developing countries, the socalled
presumptive treatment of fever with antimalarial
medication is advocated in many countries
where malaria is endemic. The survey was fielded
over six months, from August 2009 to February
2010. Malaria transmission is at its peak at the end of
the wet season, which occurs from November to May
(Cooper et al., 2010). Malaria in Timor-Leste is
discussed in greater detail in Chapter 13.
Table 11.6 shows the percentage of children
under age 5 with fever during the two weeks
preceding the survey and the percentage receiving
various treatments, by selected background
characteristics. One-fifth of children (19 percent)
under 5 years of age were reported to have had fever
in the past two weeks. Fever is most common among
children age 6-11 months (28 percent) and then
decreases with age. The prevalence of fever is higher
among children who live in urban areas (24 percent)
compared with those who live in rural areas (18
percent). District differentials show that the
proportion of children with fever is highest in Liquiçá
(34 percent) and lowest in Ainaro (5 percent). Fever
prevalence increases slightly as wealth quintile
increases but shows no clear relationship by
education of the mother.
Table 11.5 Prevalence and treatment of symptoms of
ARI
Percentage of children under age 5 who had symptoms
of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in the two weeks
preceding the survey, according to background
characteristics, Timor-Leste 2009-10
Background
characteristic
Children under age 5
Percentage
with symptoms
of ARI 1
Number of
children
Age in months