During an epidemic of acute respiratory illness in a town of 50,000 people, 2,000 persons developed the illness and 100 of them died. In the same year, respiratory disease accounted for 400 of all 1,000 deaths recorded in the town. The value of 100 out of 2,000 represents:

• A Case fatality rate ✓
• B Proportionate mortality ratio
• C Cause-specific death rate
• D Age-specific mortality rate

Explanation

The case fatality rate is the number of deaths among diagnosed cases of a disease divided by the total number of cases, expressed per 100. Here 100 deaths among 2,000 cases give a CFR of 5 percent. The proportionate mortality ratio would be 400 out of 1,000 total deaths, showing the share of respiratory disease among all deaths, which is option B. Cause-specific death rate uses total population as denominator, and age-specific mortality restricts to one age group, neither of which matches the given figure.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

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