Effects of Nutritional Status and Infectious Diseases

WHO (1997), stated that there are two very different kinds of infectious diseases of worldwide importance are linked to nutrition and of current interest in developing countries; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acute gastrointestinal infection.

Nutrition and HIV

The links between HIV infection and nutrition include optimum nutritional status to maintain normal immune function as long as possible, the importance of good nutrition in maintaining health and extending the asymptomatic period, and appropriate nutritional support for those who develop acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The role of nutrition in HIV disease has been reviewed in detail by Oliver and Hyder in their report to WHO which states that HIV-positive people are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. There is a need for accurate information and targeted education to avoid reliance on, and the unnecessary costs of, inappropriate diets and unproven prophylactic nutrient supplementation regimes that may replace adherence to a suitable diet. They further stressed  that ‘many unscientifically based nutrition regimens had been claimed to be effective in the management of patients with [HIV] infections [and] it was agreed that sound nutritional advice was needed to counter such claims’; it recommended that people infected with HIV have access to scientifically sound advice from qualified dieticians.

Nutrition and Diarrhoeal Disease

The relationship between diarrhoeal disease and nutrition has been summarised by Oliver and Hyder in their report to WHO. In their report, they stated that diarrhoeal illnesses have significant deleterious effects on nutrition, growth and development in infants and young children through the combined effects of loss of nutrients, suppression of appetite, vomiting, interruption of normal feeding practices and the catabolic effects of infection. Compromised nutritional status, in turn, makes affected children more prone to gastro-intestinal infections. In developing countries, diarrhoeal disease is found mainly in children under five years old and it is often complicated by other concurrent infections and by undernutrition.

Reference

WHO (1997). Global Strategy For Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (Draft), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.