The fatty acid status of rural school children with helminth infections.

Intestinal helminth infections may reduce nutrient availability and thereby impair cognitive growth and other functions. Certain nutrients such as fatty acids may also modulate inflammation and the immune response and, thus, the severity of helminth infection. Fatty acid status may, therefore, both be affected by and affect helminth infection. Rural school-children in South Africa with a 35% helminth infestation rate were assessed for serum total fatty acid status. With hookworm, a higher percentage total n-3 fatty acids were found with functional implications.