Search

Nineteen children with iron deficiency, free from factors likely to affect cell mediated immunity (CMI) except four marasmic children and ten age and sexmatched normal controls were studied for their lymphocytic response to PHA stimulation. Lymphoblastoid transformation of patients and controls was comparable. However, four marasmic subjects had lymphoblastoid transformation rates significantly lower to controls. It was, thus,concluded that iron deficiency per se does not affect cellular immunity but concomitant severe malnutrition may be responsible for a depressed response.

800 singly born normal newborn infants were studied for their anthropometry. All the physical measurements tended to be lower than those for their Western counterparts. Out of 651 infants born after 37 weeks of gestation, 25.34 per cent weighed 2500 G. or less; 18.12 per cent had a crown heel length less than 47 cm.; 91.24 per cent had a crown rump length less than 32 cm., 14.44 per cent had a head circumference less than 33 cm. and 12.3 per cent had a chest circumference less than 30 cm.