[A case of severe malnutrition due to Ascaris lumbricoides infestation in a boy].

The authors report a case of a child three years old, with severe malnutrition as complication of Ascaris lumbricoides infection. Intestinal nematodes infect many of the world's children and constitute a formidable public health problem. The infected children may suffer nutritional deficits, serious illness and occasionally death. Although infestation is uncommon in our country, it should be considered in children with low social life.