| Abstract: | The effect of diarrhea on nutrient intake was studied in 19 children with cholera and 13 with rotavirus. The co-efficients of absorption of fat, nitrogen and calories were calculated during the acute and the recovery stages of the disease. Compared to the recovery period, in the acute stage, the intake of nitrogen, fat and calories were reduced by 44%, 32% and 36% in cholera and 22%, 10% and 27% in rotavirus patients respectively. The co-efficient of absorption of nitrogen during the acute stages of both cholera and rotavirus was equally affected, being only 44 and 45% of the ingested amount respectively. In the acute stage, the rotavirus patients absorbed significantly less fat and calories than the cholera patients (44 and 55% in rotavirus versus 72 and 82% in cholera respectively). During the recovery period, the rotavirus patients absorbed a lesser amount of all the nutrients than the cholera patients, suggesting the presence of a longer period of malabsorption in rotavirus than in cholera. |
