PREVALENCE OF VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY, SCLERAL MELANOCYTOSIS, TOOTH DECAY AND SKIN INFECTION AMONG RURAL PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN MULSHI TEHSIL, M/S, INDIA
SHARAD VITTHAL GIRAMKAR *
Department of Zoology, PDEA’s Annasaheb Magar College, Hadapsar, Pune-28, M/S, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In present study, a village survey was carried out in rural areas of Mulshi Tehsil with the aim of assessing health related problems among the rural preschool children. Clinical examinations were carried out on 527 preschool children for various health issues. Their data was collected and analyzed to find the prevalence of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) and other common health issues like tooth decay, skin diseases, etc. These health issues might be due to illiteracy about hygiene, sanitation, exposure to humid atmosphere due to heavy rainfall in the study area, consumption of unfiltered borewell water for drinking, etc. The high humidity and improper sanitation leads to growth of harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and/or other microbes. The present survey revealed 12.3% prevalence of VAD which includes 2% Night blindness, 2.5% xerophthalmia, 4% Bitot spots and 3.8% conjunctival xerosis among these preschool children. The other health issues observed among were 4.5% scleral melanocytosis, 2.7% tooth decay and 5.3% skin diseases.
Keywords: Preschool children, vitamin a deficiency, bitot spots, scleral melanocytosis, tooth decay, skin diseases.