Abstract:
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are the leading cause of childhood illness and death worldwide, accounting
for an estimated 6.5% of the entire global burden of disease. This study investigated the association between
household use of biomass fuels for cooking and acute respiratory infections in preschool age children (< 5 years)
in Gondar city of Ethiopia. This cross sectional study was based on 715 children age 0–59 months included in
three clusters randomly selected from 12 administrative areas of Gondar city. Children who suffered from cough
accompanied by short, rapid breathing during the two weeks preceding the survey were defined as having
suffered from ARI. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of suffering from ARI among children
from households using biomass fuels (wood, dung or straw) relative to children from households using cleaner
fuels (liquid petroleum gas (LPG), or electricity) after controlling for potentially confounding factors. More than
half of the children (54.7%) lived in households using biomass fuels from which 26.3% suffered from ARI
during the 2 weeks preceding the survey interview. Children in households using wood, dung, or straw for
cooking were 3.89 times more likely to have suffered from ARI as compared to children from households using
LPG or electricity (OR = 3.89; 95% CI: 1.54, 28.25). Household’s use of high pollution biomass fuels is
significantly associated with ARI in preschool age children in Gondar city, Ethiopia. The relationship needs to
be further investigated using more direct measures of smoke exposure and clinical measures of ARI.
