%0 Journal Article %T Household illness prevalence and its determinants in the under-five children %A Tesfaye Tessema %A Sirak Hailu %A Sisay Anberbir %A Getnet Mitikie %J Ethiopian Journal of Health Development %D 2001 %I %X Objective: To determine the household illness prevalence and their risk factors in the under-fives. Methods: A cross-sectional community based house-to-house survey was conducted on randomly selected one urban and nine rural villages in Dabat district, North Western Ethiopia. Results: Out of the 457 under-five children enrolled in the study 154 (33.7%) had symptoms of illness two weeks prior to the study day. The most frequently occurring symptoms were fever (n=113), cough (n=57) and diarrhea (n=52). Increased frequency of symptoms of disease was found in children below 12 months of age (p=0.005), with lack of history of vegetable consumption (p=0.0005) and with mid-upper arm circumference of less than 13.5 cms (p=0.004). Only 16.2% (n=26) of those with symptoms sought medical advice. Conclusions: Household intervention programs targeting the frequently seen illnesses and their risk factors are suggested to reduce burden of disease in the under-fives. (Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, 2001, 15(3): 173-178) %U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejhd/article/view/9872