Vitamin A deficiency disorders in 16 districts of India

A multicentre study to assess vitamin A deficiency disorders (Bitot’s spot and corneal scars) in 1,64,512 children (< 6 years) and night blindness among 1,13,202 children (24–71 months) from 16 districts of 11 states was carried out during 1997–2000. The prevalence of night blindness among 6,633 pregnant women from 15 districts was also assessed. The sampling methodology followed was a “30 cluster survey”. The highest prevalence of Bitot’s spot (4.71%), corneal scar (0.5%) and night blindness (5.17%) in children was found in Gaya district whereas the highest prevalence of night blindness (19.62%) among pregnant women was observed in Dibrugarh. No case of Bitot’s spot was found in children screened from Mandi, Dehradun and Badaun districts. Similarly prevalance of night blindness was ‘nil’ among pregnant women of Badaun, Baramulla, Dehradun, Mainpuri, Srinagar, Bikaner and Raigarh