The Calcutta Kids Diarrhea Treatment Center (CKDTC) is a unique clinic devoted to the low cost treatment and prevention of diarrheal diseases. The CKDTC works from the model provided by the premier diarrhea hospital at the ICDDR,B. The essential idea is that the body is able to resolve the diarrhea itself and the clinical treatment should be focused on the side effects, primarily dehydration, using oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc supplementation. While providing clinical care, the CKDTC is also working on a paradigm shift in treatment from intravenous saline, antidiarrheals and antibiotics to ORS, zinc and a behavior change communication (BCC) campaign to prevent diarrhea and when it occurs, to identify and treat the diarrhea and dehydration early. In the first six months of operations (March to August 2011), the CKDTC treated 378 children under the age of three with only 6% antibiotic use and only 2 cases where children were referred to a nearby clinic for rehydration through intravenous saline.
Diarrhea in India
Diarrhea is a deadly disease when not treated properly, with 1,000 children under the age of 5 dying each day in India. For Calcutta Kids beneficiaries, the main problem associated with diarrhea is the malnutrition that results from the improper treatment and damage to the intestinal tract that accompanies diarrhea. The CKDTC was started as a way to address the fourth of Calcutta Kids objectives, ìTo ensure that children age 0-3 grow normallyî. For more information, read the 2009 UNICEF/WHO report ìDiarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be doneî.
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