Overcoming barriers in evaluating outbreaks of diarrheal disease in resource poor settings: assessment of recurrent outbreaks in Chobe District Botswana

摘要

BackgroundDiarrheal illness remains a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, with the majority of deaths occurring in children <5 years of age. Lack of resources often prohibits the evaluation of outbreak characteristics and limits progress in managing this important disease syndrome, particularly in Africa. Relying only on existing medical staff and hospital resources, we assess the use of a questionnaire survey tool to identify baseline outbreak characteristics during recurrent diarrheal outbreaks in Chobe, Botswana.