© 1996 by Oxford University Press
research-article |
Vitamin A Deficiency and T-cell Subpopulations in Children with Meningococcal Disease
*Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD, USA
**Center for Population Health, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM, USA
***Department of Pediatrics, National University of Rwanda Butare, Rwanda
Department of Epidemiology, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD, USA
Epidemiology and Cancer Control Program, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM, USA
University Center for Public Health, School of Medicine, National University of Rwanda Butare, Rwanda
Correspondence: Dr Richard Semba, Ocular Immunology Service, Suite 700, 550 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205. Tel. (410) 955-3572, Fax (410) 955-0629
Although group A meningococcal disease is a major cause of child morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about vitamin A status and T-cell subpopulations in affected children. A prospective study of vitamin A levels and T-cell subpopulations was conducted in 41 children hospitalized for meningococcal meningitis in Butare, Rwanda, during an epidemic from September through November, 1992. The mean age of cases was 3.6±2.7 years (range 0.5–16 years). The casefatality rate was 20 per cent; 73 per cent of the children had serum vitamin A levels consistent with subclinical deficiency (<0.7 µmol/l), and 27 per cent had levels consistent with severe deficiency (<0.35 µmol/l). Mean CD4 per cent was higher and CD8 per cent was lower among children with meningitis compared with known reference populations. These results suggest that meningococcal disease is characterized by T-cell subpopulation alterations and vitamin A deficiency.