Severe measles: some unanswered questions.

The severity of measles is greatest in the developing countries, where a high proportion of children have nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional deficiencies may play a part in the complications that result from measles infection. Nutritional deficiencies may also be the reason for the young age at which infection is found in children in developing countries; the child with severe measles and an immune system that is suppressed as a result of malnutrition secrets the virus three times longer than does a child with normal nutrition.