Synergism of Malnutrition and Infection

Abstract

Knowledge of human disease is acquired in three main ways: bedside study of the sick individual, laboratory experiment, and the epidemiological approach through observation of disease as it occurs in whole populations. All three, although first applied to infectious diseases, are equally applicable to nutritional disorders. In its simplest form the epidemiological method deals with the incidence and prevalence of a disease in various fractions of a population. The next step is to use these data to identify the multiple causative factors involved. This may be followed by the design and execution of field studies to test hypotheses of origin, and ultimately to evaluate suggested measures for prevention and control.¹ The epidemiological method requires an understanding of the ecology of a disease process as determined not only by a specific agent but also by environmental and host factors which usually play the larger role in determining occurrence and severity.