[Evaluation of the effects of malnutrition and malaria on skin reactions in delayed hypersensitivity to tuberculin, varidase and phytohemagglutinin]

Abstract

The effects of both malnutrition and malarial infection on cell mediated hypersensitivity (CMH) to tuberculin, varidase and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) has been evaluated in a group of children from a rural area of Upper Volta, aged lower than 3 years. Only the response to PHA was decreased during the course of malnutrition. In plasmodium infection associated with a low degree of parasitemia, it appeared that there was no effect on the frequency of positive responses to either these antigens or mitogen at any nutritional conditions. The high prevalence of tuberculin positive test allows to support the interest of a precocious anti tuberculin vaccination.