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Febrile response in malnutrition
The West Indian Medical Journal
|December 1, 1989
Insights
Malnourished children showed a weaker fever response to the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) vaccine. Nutritional recovery improved their febrile response to standard immunization.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Immunology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Malnutrition can impair immune responses.
- Vaccine efficacy may be affected by nutritional status.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the febrile response to DPT vaccination in malnourished children.
- To compare this response before and after nutritional recovery.
Main Methods:
- Assessed febrile response (temperature increase) to a standard DPT vaccine dose.
- Studied sixteen malnourished children.
- Compared responses pre- and post-recovery.
Main Results:
- Malnourished children exhibited a significantly lower temperature increase after DPT vaccination (p < 0.005).
- The febrile response was diminished in the state of malnutrition.
Conclusions:
- Malnutrition significantly blunts the febrile response to DPT vaccination.
- Nutritional recovery appears to restore a more typical febrile response to vaccines.
Abstract:
The febrile response to a standard dose of triple (DPT) vaccine was assessed in sixteen malnourished children before and after recovery. The increase in temperature was significantly lower in the malnourished children (p less than 0.005).