Gut Microbiome in the Nutrition–Infection Interaction: A Focus on Malnourished Children

Malnourished children worldwide are caught in a vicious cycle between infection and poor nutrition. They experience various gastrointestinal infections, which damage intestinal tissue and hamper absorption of nutrients. Without nutrients, they lack the building blocks to repair mucosa and mount an effective immune response. As a result, they remain vulnerable to more infections, which lead to further malnutrition, which perpetuates tragic loops that continue through the most critical years of

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 247 Malnourished Children Have Altered Microbiomes ..............................................248 Which Comes First, Infection/Altered Microbiome or Malnutrition? ...................249 Breaking the Cycle: Antibiotics ............................................................................. 251 Breaking the Cycle: Changing the Microbiome .................................................... 252 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 253 References .............................................................................................................. 253

physical and mental growth. The cycle’s consequences are far-reaching, resulting in stunted and cognitively impaired children, thereby permanently crippling the most productive future members of many societies.