EVALUATION OF VITAMIN-A-DEFICIENCY IN THE YELIMANE CIRCLE OF MALI, WEST-AFRICA

Of 207 children (aged 4-7 years) in western Mali examined clinically a nd by conjunctival impression cytology (CIC), 2% had night blindness, no child had Bitot spots and 78% were found to have abnormal CIC sugge sting deficiency in vitamin A. In a cohort of 53 children examined by CIC pre- and post-harvest (June and December), abnormal CIC were seen in 77.4% and 54.7%, respectively (P = 0.04). Subclinical vitamin A def iciency is a problem in this area. A seasonal variation is demonstrate d. CIC is a useful method for identifying communities with subclinical vitamin A deficiency. A variety of strategies for dealing with vitami n A deficiency are discussed.