Diarrhea And Malnutrition

There are several reasons why a consolidation of recent advances in our understanding of the interaction of diarrhea and malnutrition is indi cated and timely. It is now widely recognized that diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children of poor countries. Due to recent advances in laboratory and field diagnostic techniques, many of the previously unrecognized etiologic agents responsible for diarrhea have been identified, thereby providing new scientific knowledge for rational control strategies. Increasingly these advances suggest that the morbidity burden of diarrhea may be of equal, if not greater, public health consequence than mortality. Diarrhea only rarely causes disease severe enough to require institutionalized medical care. The vast major ity of diseases are of mild or moderate severity, and because of high prev alence, diarrhea imposes an enormous morbidity burden and exerts a sig nificant negative impact on child growth and development. Moreover, the effects of successive episodes of diarrhea are likely to be cumulative. In contrast to several other childhood infections, the treatment of the diarrheal diseases is feasible because it uses simple, effective, and low cost medical technologies. Within the context of these developments, there has been a major resurgence of international interest in, and commitment to, the control of the diarrheal diseases. The World Health Organization recently has launched a global program for the control of diarrhea, and simulta neously, an independent international research center on diarrhea has been established in Bangladesh.

There are several reasons why a consolidation of recent advances in our understanding of the interaction of diarrhea and malnutrition is indi cated and timely. It is now widely recognized that diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children of poor countries. Due to recent advances in laboratory and field diagnostic techniques, many of the previously unrecognized etiologic agents responsible for diarrhea have been identified, thereby providing new scientific knowledge for rational control strategies. Increasingly these advances suggest that the morbidity burden of diarrhea may be of equal, if not greater, public health consequence than mortality. Diarrhea only rarely causes disease severe enough to require institutionalized medical care. The vast major ity of diseases are of mild or moderate severity, and because of high prev alence, diarrhea imposes an enormous morbidity burden and exerts a sig nificant negative impact on child growth and development. Moreover, the effects of successive episodes of diarrhea are likely to be cumulative. In contrast to several other childhood infections, the treatment of the diarrheal diseases is feasible because it uses simple, effective, and low cost medical technologies. Within the context of these developments, there has been a major resurgence of international interest in, and commitment to, the control of the diarrheal diseases. The World Health Organization recently has launched a global program for the control of diarrhea, and simulta neously, an independent international research center on diarrhea has been established in Bangladesh.

Malnutrition in Chronic Diet-Associated Infantile Diarrhea: Diagnosis and Management documents the proceedings of eighth annual symposium on nutrition research. The symposium addressed the complex problem of ""Enteropathy of Infantile Malnutrition"" by assembling a distinguished group of international scientists at the Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Leading experts in the fields of pathology, immunology, gastroenterology, and nutrition reviewed the state of knowledge on the topic; researchers from countries including Sweden, the People's Republic of China, Brazil, India, Australia, and the United States presented the latest findings from field studies. The volume contains 52 chapters organized into seven parts. Part I contains papers on intestinal mucosal histology in infantile malnutrition and chronic diarrhea. Part II presents studies on Intestinal mucosal immunology. Part III examines the epidemiological relationship between malnutrition and chronic diarrhea in infants and children. Part IV focuses on the diagnosis and dietary and pharmacological management of chronic diarrhea. Part V deals with clinical disorders of transient carbohydrate malabsorption. Part VI reports on the terminology and classification of patients with malnutrition in chronic diet-associated infantile diarrhea while Part VII discusses future research priorities.

The Pocket Book is for use by doctors nurses and other health workers who are responsible for the care of young children at the first level referral hospitals. This second edition is based on evidence from several WHO updated and published clinical guidelines. It is for use in both inpatient and outpatient care in small hospitals with basic laboratory facilities and essential medicines. In some settings these guidelines can be used in any facilities where sick children are admitted for inpatient care. The Pocket Book is one of a series of documents and tools that support the Integrated Managem.

Diarrhoea and Malnutrition in Childhood is derived from a conference of pediatric gastroenterologists from around the world, held in London at the Royal Commonwealth Society and St. Bartholomew's Hospital on November 5-7, 1984. They collaborate to create a source that would educate people from developed and developing communities regarding the topic. The book first tackles the connections between diarrhea and malnutrition, and then provides a model that further explains the relationship. The authors suggest that poverty is the main cause of the two abnormal conditions, and they refer to books and studies of the topic by respected figures in the industry. Bacteria that cause the two diseases and the diseases' variations are also covered. Other topics discussed in the book are parasites in the intestine; schemes on how to improve nutrition; importance of breast-feeding; and role that the parts of the human body play during illness. This book will serve as a valuable reference for doctors, researchers, and even casual readers.

The evaluation of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) by the Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (DCP3) focuses on maternal conditions, childhood illness, and malnutrition. Specifically, the chapters address acute illness and undernutrition in children, principally under age 5. It also covers maternal mortality, morbidity, stillbirth, and influences to pregnancy and pre-pregnancy. Volume 3 focuses on developments since the publication of DCP2 and will also include the transition to older childhood, in particular, the overlap and commonality with the child development volume. The DCP3 evaluation of these conditions produced three key findings: 1. There is significant difficulty in measuring the burden of key conditions such as unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, nonsexually transmitted infections, infertility, and violence against women. 2. Investments in the continuum of care can have significant returns for improved and equitable access, health, poverty, and health systems. 3. There is a large difference in how RMNCH conditions affect different income groups; investments in RMNCH can lessen the disparity in terms of both health and financial risk.