RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Antibodies to Herpesvirus hominis types 1 and 2 in malnourished Nigerian children.
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 45
OP 48
DO 10.1136/adc.56.1.45
VO 56
IS 1
A1 Johnson, A O
A1 Salimonu, L S
A1 Osunkoya, B O
YR 1981
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/56/1/45.abstract
AB Antibodies to Herpesvirus hominis (HVH) types 1 and 2 were determined by a micro-neutralisation method in 37 children with kwashiorkor, 16 with marasmus, and in 64 well-nourished control children. All the children were aged between 1 and 4 years. The prevalence of antibodies was similar in the two sexes and at different ages. HVH-1 antibodies were present in 51% of children with kwashiorkor, in 44% with marasmus, and in 26% of well-nourished children, reflecting the very poor socioeconomic conditions of malnourished children. HVH-2 antibodies too were present in about 19% of children with kwashiorkor, and in 2% of well-nourished controls; they were absent in marasmic children. It is suggested that HVH-2 infection in malnourished children is facilitated by the communal use of fomites--such as bedclothes and underwear.