Vitamin A status in three woredas of Kambatta, Alaba, and Timbaro Zone, Southern Peoples’s Region

Abstract

As a part of comprehensive evaluative study on various strategies to control Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), a baseline survey was conducted in three woredas of Kambatta, Alaba, and Timbaro Zone (KAT) in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region in 1996. A total of 4123 children from randomly selected peasant associations were clinically examined for signs of xerophthalmia while blood samples were collected from a systematically selected 197 children for serum retinol analysis. Results indicate that 1.2% (51) of the children had a history of night blindness and 0.2% (8) had bitot’s spots. Most cases of bitot’s spots (6 out of 8) were in the age range of 36-72 months. The prevalence of bitot’s spots was higher in male children compared to female children (5 and 3 respectively). Over a quarter of children (27.9%) had low serum retinol concentrations, while 4.6% had deficient serum retinol concentrations. Nearly equal numbers of male and female children (4 and 5 respectively) had deficient levels of serum retinol concentrations while more male children had low serum retinol levels compared to female children (28 and 17, respectively). The high prevalence of night blindness (WHO’s cut-off point of 1%) and serum retinol levels (WHO’s cut-off point of 20% less than or equal to 0.70 umole/1) indicates that VAD is emerging as a public health problem in an area previously considered free of VAD. These findings justify the need to strengthen the intervention strategies underway in the area.