The Gut Microbiome in Child Malnutrition

Undernutrition affects almost 25% of all children under the age of five worldwide and underlies almost half of all child deaths. Dietary interventions alone are insufficient to comprehensively reduce the burden of child undernutrition and fail to address the persistent infectious burden of the disease. Although the role infections are well recognised in the pathogenesis of undernutrition, an emerging body of evidence suggests that commensal microbial communities, known as the microbiome, also play an important role.
In this presentation, Ruairi C. Robertson explores the interrelation between microbiome and undernutrition and the need for future research investigating microbiota-directed therapies, which pose real potential to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with child undernutrition.