Influence of moderate malnutrition on morbidity and antibody response following vaccination with live, attenuated measles virus vaccine.

The influence of malnutrition upon susceptibility to infection has been well-documented in man (I, 2). Hence increased morbidity and mortality observed in malnourished populations can be explained, at least in part, by the detrimental effects of malnutrition on various aspects of the humoral (3, 4), cell-mediated (5, 6), and secretory (7, 8) immune responses. These effects have been most clearly demonstrated in children suffering from the more severe forms of protein and energy malnutrition, although recent studies indicate that subclinical malnutrition may also significantly impair a child’s ability to respond immunologically to infectious agents (9, 20). The latter findings have far-reaching implica-