[Epidemiology of bacillary dysentery in Algeria. I. The epidemiological aspects of dysentery in Algeria].

Bacterial dysentery plays an important role among infectious diseases in Algeria. A tendency to the growth of the morbidity rate has been observed. Dysentery is irregularly spread in different zones of the country. The highest morbidity rate is registered in the Sahara zone and in the eastern part of the country. The morbidity rate among the urban population is higher than among the rural population. S. flexneri prevail in the etiological structure of dysentery infection. Of all age groups, the highest morbidity rate is observed among children during the first 2 years of life. In recent years lethality varies between 2.9% and 7.5%. Patients are hospitalized mainly on the basis of clinical symptoms.