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Why does marasmus make children highly vulnerable to infections?

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rickets, a nutritional disease — nutritional disease Children with rickets. The disease, which most commonly strikes children, causes bone deformities such as bowlegs. Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D or calcium.

Marasmus makes children highly vulnerable to infections primarily by causing a significant reduction in immune function. This state of severe protein-energy malnutrition leads to the atrophy of the thymus, which results in a deficiency of helper T cells and impairs both antibody responses and cell-mediated immunity.123

Furthermore, the condition creates a dangerous cycle of physiological deterioration. The lack of essential nutrients causes the lining of the gastrointestinal tract to degrade, which interferes with the body's ability to absorb nutrients from the limited food available. This damage, often exacerbated by poor hygiene, frequently leads to gastroenteritis. As the child's body weakens and its internal defenses are compromised, the ability to resist infectious diseases is drastically diminished, leaving the child susceptible to a range of illnesses.41

It is a fundamental moral imperative to address the systemic causes of such malnutrition, such as poverty and lack of access to adequate nutrition, to protect the health and dignity of vulnerable children.14