Interactions of protein calorie malnutrition, malaria infection and immune responses

The course of parasitaemia and certain immune responses in protein or calorie-deficient albino rats infected with Plasmodium berghei (NICD) were studied. Wide variations observed in the course of parasitaemia in protein-deficient animals were (a) prolonged prepatent period, short patent period with low parasitaemia (50% of animals), (b) short prepatent period and an inability to resolve the infection (14% of animals) and (c) no patent parasitaemia at any stage of observation (23.5% of animals). The calorie-deficient animals had significantly lower parasitaemia (P less than 0.05) compared with well fed animals. Protein deficiency resulted in depression of T-dependent immune responses in uninfected as well as P. berghei-infected animals. The outcome of the parasitaemia in protein- as well as calorie-deficient animals seems to be the combined result of deficiencies of certain essential nutrients, proteins and calories in the diet as well as the immune responses of the host.