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Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children
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Chronic consequences on human health induced by microbial pathogens: Growth faltering among children in developing

James P Nataro1, Richard L Guerrant2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, United States.

Vaccine
|May 28, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Enteric infections cause significant childhood deaths and growth faltering. Experts explored how pathogens and gut microbiota impact child growth, even without diarrhea, through direct injury or microbial imbalance.

Area of Science:

  • Global child health
  • Infectious diseases
  • Pediatric gastroenterology

Background:

  • Enteric infections cause 500,000 childhood deaths annually.
  • Emerging evidence links enteric pathogens to linear growth faltering.
  • Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) causes are poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Address pathogen contribution to growth faltering without diarrhea.
  • Investigate the role of intestinal microbiota in child growth.
  • Explore mechanisms of pathogen impact on growth.

Main Methods:

  • Workshop discussion among field experts.
  • Review of emerging evidence on enteric infections and growth.
  • Analysis of pathogen-microbiota interactions.

Main Results:

  • Enteric pathogens contribute to growth faltering, independent of clinical diarrhea.
  • Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in childhood growth.
  • Pathogen exposure can cause direct epithelial injury or microbiota disruption.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is a significant factor in childhood growth faltering.
  • Understanding pathogen-microbiota interactions is key to addressing EED.
  • Interventions targeting enteric infections and microbiota may improve child growth.

Keywords:
Child healthDiarrheaEnvironmental enteric dysfunctionGrowth faltering

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