Severe malnutrition: kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor: clinical features This is a child who has died from severe kwashiorkor. Note the oedema of the lower limbs and widespread excoriations of the skin, especially over the extremities and orifices. The immediate cause of death in children with severe malnutrition is often an acute illness such as diarrhoea, measles or lower respiratory tract infection. HIV infection may contribute to kwashiorkor, although this particular child was HIV-negative.