Antibody Response in Children with Protein Malnutrition

Abstract

The capacity for antibody production in response to typhoid vaccine was studied in thirty patients with kwashiorkor divided at random into two equal groups. Dietary treatment of the members of the two groups was identical except that the patients in one of the groups received, in addition, daily intramuscular injections of 12.5 mg. pyridoxine. A third group consisted of fifteen well nourished infants who served as controls. Immediately before the typhoid vaccine was administered on the day following admission and again ten days later, blood was taken for agglutination tests against “H” and “O” antigens of Salmonella typhi and for the determination of total serum proteins and individual protein fractions. No significant difference in the capacity for antibody production was found among the three groups.