Sustained high incidence of injuries from burns in a densely populated urban slum in Kenya: An emerging public health priority. Burns. 2014 Sep;40(6):1194-200.
Authors: Wong JM1, Nyachieo DO1, Benzekri NA1, Cosmas L1, Ondari D1, Yekta S2, Montgomery JM1, Williamson JM1, Breiman RF3.
1Global Disease Detection Division, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Nairobi, Kenya and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-CDC Research Collaboration.
2Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
3Global Disease Detection Division, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Nairobi, Kenya and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-CDC Research Collaboration. Electronic address: rfbreiman@emory.edu.
INTRODUCTION: Ninety-five percent of burn deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, longitudinal household-level studies have not been done in urban slum settings, where overcrowding and unsafe cook stoves may increase likelihood of injury.
METHODS: Using a prospective, population-based disease surveillance system in the urban slum of Kibera in Kenya, we examined the incidence of household-level burns of all severities from 2006-2011.
RESULTS: Of approximately 28,500 enrolled individuals (6000 households), we identified 3072 burns. The overall incidence was 27.9/1000 person-years-of-observation. Children <5 years old sustained burns at 3.8-fold greater rate compared to (p<0.001) those ≥5 years old. Females ≥5 years old sustained burns at a rate that was 1.35-fold (p<0.001) greater than males within the same age distribution. Hospitalizations were uncommon (0.65% of all burns).
CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of burns, 10-fold greater than in most published reports from Africa and Asia, suggests that such injuries may contribute more significantly than previously thought to morbidity in LMICs, and may be increased by urbanization. As migration from rural areas into urban slums rapidly increases in many African countries, characterizing and addressing the rising burden of burns is likely to become a public health priority.
