Measles & malnutrition

Measles is an important acute childhood viral infection having severe consequences on the nutritional status. The adverse nutritional effects of measles are experienced by both the well-nourished and the malnourished children. However, the severe nutritional deficiencies like kwashiorkor/marasmus are precipitated only in children who are already malnourished. As high as 3-4 per cent of children with measles suffered from these clinical nutritional syndromes in their post-measles period. Though malnutrition is widespread among Asian children also, measles appears to run a milder course with low mortality rates in developing Asian countries, as compared to African children. The associated secondary infections which apparently complicate the primary illness in malnourished children might be responsible for higher mortality and could be due to socioeconomic and environmental causes that are associated with poverty and malnutrition rather than due to malnutrition or measles per se. Measles related blindness is of multifactorial aetiology. While acute measles triggers corneal ulceration through viral proliferation in the cornea, nutritional keratomalacia is often the cause of blindness in the post-measles period. Measles vaccination is the major preventive measure. However, timely use of local antibiotic therapy to the eyes and administration of vitamin A supplements offer protection to the child who already has measles. Response of malnourished children to live attenuated measles vaccine has been found to be safe and effective. Neither malnutrition nor tuberculosis which are widespread among malnourished children of developing countries appear to be contraindications for measles vaccination. Thus, the beneficial effects of the measles vaccination should be fully exploited by adequate supply of potent vaccine and coverage of all susceptible children.