Acquired zinc deficiency in breast-fed infants.

Zinc deficiency in breast-fed infants is a rare disease caused by a low level of zinc in their mother's milk. Premature infants are more vulnerable to develop zinc deficiency than full-term infants because, despite their high zinc requirements, they have insufficient body stores of zinc and a poor capability to absorb zinc from the gut. The clinical aspect of zinc deficiency is acrodermatitis enteropathica, in which the severity is proportional to the zinc level. The patients respond well to oral zinc supplements.