Infection and Kwashiorkor

Reflections on the Legacy of INCAP

“…Moreover, the disease had been well described in 1949 by Meneghello in Chile under the name sindrome pluricarencial de la infancia [3]. We confirmed the association with infection recognized by both Williams and Meneghello [4]. An FAO/WHO study in Brazil had a similar outcome [5].…”

Anaemias of Marasmus and Kwashiorkor in Kenya

“…Scrimshaw, Wilson and Bressani (1960) considered that nutrition and infection acted synergistically in the genesis of these diseases. We think that infection is an important factor in the aetiology of these types of anaemia and intimately connected with variations in haemopoiesis.…”

Immunity, Transferrin, and Survival in Kwashiorkor

“…Infection is more prevalent in this disease than in the rest of the population (Scrimshaw et al, 1960), and there is evidence of an immune deficiency state in kwashiorkor. Brown and Katz (1965), in Uganda, noted that the serum immunoglobulin concentration in kwashiorkor was severely depressed, whereas Najjar et al (1969) observed high serum IgG, IgA, and IgM in marasmic infants with no clinical evidence of kwashiorkor.…”