BMJ  2004;328:811-815 (3 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7443.811

Clinical review

Burden of infectious diseases in South Asia

¹ Department of Paediatrics, Aga Khan University, Karachi 74800, Pakistan, ² Department of Paediatrics, King George Medical University, Lucknow, India, ³ Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

Infectious diseases are a major cause of death in South Asia, with children incurring a disproportionate share of the burden. This review discusses the underlying causes of some of the more common diseases and strategies to improve their detection and control

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Preventable infections are a major cause of deaths and disabilities in South Asia. Over two thirds of the estimated 3.7 million deaths in children in South Asia in the year 2000 were attributable to infections such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and measles.^{1 2} India now has the second largest population with AIDS and HIV infection in the world, and tuberculosis and chronic hepatitis continue to threaten the lives of millions. Of the overall burden of deaths related to infectious disease in the region, around 63% are in children aged under 5 years.³ Serious effort should be devoted to the control of infectious disease if South Asian countries are to meet their millennium development goal of two thirds reduction in child mortality by 2015.

Sri Lanka alone among South Asian countries has made remarkable progress in reducing the burden of infectious disease, despite civil war and meagre resources.

This review describes the burden . . . [Full text of this article]

Sources and selection criteria

Risk factors for disease and death

Estimating the burden of disease

Major child killers

The challenge of HIV and AIDS and the control of tuberculosis

The unmeasured burden of malaria, typhoid, and dengue

The hepatitis B and C epidemics

Antimicrobial drug resistance and untreatable infections

The glaring immunisation gap

Reducing the burden of infectious diseases

Surveillance systems

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