Otitis media in indonesian urban and rural school children.

Background: Although the epidemiology of otitis media is well-known in industrialized countries, the extent of otitis media in developing Asian countries, especially in south East Asia is not well studied.

Methods: To define the burden of otitis media and its sequelae in children 6-15 years of age, we enrolled elementary and junior high school children in 6 areas in rural and urban Indonesia. Randomly selected schools and classrooms were selected.