OBJECTIVES: 1. To ascertain the causes of severe @entity227 and @entity1939 in @entity1 in schools for the blind in South Africa. 2. To determine the major avoidable causes. 3. To determine causation by ethnic group. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey, undertaken at 15 of the 16 schools for the blind in South Africa, during May-September 1996, using standard WHO methodology. SUBJECTS: @entity1 less than 16 years of age on May 1996. RESULTS: Of 1,615 eligible @entity1 , 1,311 were examined. According to WHO categories of @entity227 , using the corrected visual acuity in the better eye, 30.4% of @entity1 were blind (< 3/60, BL), 12.6% had severe @entity227 (< 6/60-3/60, SVI), 42.3% were @entity227 (< 6/18-6/60), and 12.0% had no impairment (6/18 or better). The anatomical sites of SVI/BL in 564 @entity1 were: retina 38.5%; optic nerve 15.2%; @entity267 /phthisis bulbi 11.0% and @entity726 6.7%. Aetiological categories of SVI/BL were: hereditary diseases 33.0%; intra-uterine factors 0.9%; perinatal conditions 13.1%; acquired conditions of childhood 11.5%. In 41.5% the underlying cause could not be determined. In 38.8% of @entity1 with SVI/BL the cause was avoidable, i.e. preventable or treatable. The main causes varied between ethnic groups, the major difference being the higher proportion of @entity989 in white and Indian @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that 38.8% of causes of SVI or @entity1939 in @entity1 in schools for the blind in South Africa are avoidable, and that specific control measures need to be targeted at different ethnic groups.

The causes of XXXX in South Africa.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'Children'] @entity227 :: ('MESH:D014786', 'Disease') :: ['visually impaired', 'visual impairment'] @entity267 :: ('MESH:D065306', 'Disease') :: ['cornea'] @entity726 :: ('MESH:D005901', 'Disease') :: ['glaucoma'] @entity1939 :: ('MESH:D001766', 'Disease') :: ['blindness'] @entity989 :: ('MESH:D012164', 'Disease') :: ['retinopathy of prematurity']
@entity1939 :: (MESH:D001766,Disease) :: ['childhood blindness']
