Impact of interventional supplementation with vitamin A and zinc on pneumonia and malaria morbidity of children in Rift Valley areas of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, children under five years of age constitute about 18% of the population and child mortality is still the highest. Many trials have set that Vitamin A deficiency is one of the major public health problem and responsible for as many as one out of every four child deaths. The prevalence of Zinc deficiency is unknown, but mild to moderate forms of the deficiency are likely to be present particularly in areas where the prevalence of stunting is high. In connection, Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among infants. In rural areas, one fifth of under five mortality and one third of infant mortality is caused by ARI. About three fourth of the land mass of Ethiopia is potentially malarious and over 5 million episodes of malaria are estimated to occur annually.  The interaction between Zinc and Vitamin A and their combined effect on pneumonia and malaria has been tried at different times in different areas, possibly a variation in infectious etiologies. Hence, this project is the first project in studying the synergestic impact of Vitamin A and Zinc by taking in to account of infectious etiologies of pneumonia and malaria; and measuring the change of T-lymphocytes and cytokines before and after intervention. The study areas of the project are Wendo-Genet and Ziway. About 800 children between 6 to 59 months of age will be recruited and its study design is a cohort community based, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention trial (RCT). The major activities that will be performed under different labs are: measurement of CRP; cultures for isolation of infectious etiologies; and dipstick test and blood films.  In conclusion, this project has paramount importance for policy makers and supports the country’s trial of achieving the fourth MDG in 2015.