Nutritional modulation of immunity to infection

Abstract

PEM of varying grades constitutes an important nutritional deficiency disorder of young children. Several immune mechanisms are found to be impaired in severely malnourished children thus making them victims of the vicious cycle of infection and malnutrition. Early impairment of neutrophil function triggers the vicious cycle and this emphasizes the need for prevention and early treatment of acute infections in children. Often based on the observations made in severely malnourished children, doubts have been expressed about the success of vaccination programmes in communities where malnutrition is widespread. But the humoral and cell mediated immune responses which are essential for adequate response to the various vaccines are found to be satisfactory among the undernourished children who constitute the major segment of the beneficiaries of such programmes in the communities. These observations help in strongly recommending the implementation of vaccination programmes in such communities and thus prevent severe malnutrition. Severe malnutrition, though often amenable for rehabilitation in the hospital, however, leaves certain permanent immunological sequelae and thus prevention of severe PEM in young children is important.