Final answer:
Undernutrition makes severe complications more likely for a child with measles due to a weakened immune system and inability to effectively fight off diseases. The relationship between undernutrition and infection is synergistic, with each exacerbating the severity of the other. The correct option is c).
Step-by-step explanation:
Undernutrition makes severe complications more likely for a child who has measles. This is because undernutrition often impairs the immune system, making it weaker and therefore more susceptible to infectious diseases, like measles, and increasing the likelihood of severe complications.
Children who are undernourished may not have the essential vitamins and nutrients needed to fight off a disease effectively, and their bodies may have difficulty recovering from illnesses due to a weakened immune response.
Additionally, symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea can worsen malnutrition by reducing nutrient intake or absorption. These severe complications can range from heightened vulnerability to infections to increased risk of mortality, due to the body's inability to mount a sufficient immune response.
In considering long-term effects in children who survive famines and undernutrition, we see that malnutrition during key developmental stages can have lasting impacts on the immune system's ability to maintain homeostasis and combat infections in the long term.
This creates a vicious cycle where undernutrition and infectious diseases exacerbate each other.
Moreover, undernutrition, especially a lack of protein, can result in conditions such as kwashiorkor, which is characterized by swelling, skin problems, and weakened muscles, and can be fatal if not addressed.
Insufficient protein intake jeopardizes the body's ability to repair and grow cells, severely impacting a child's overall health, growth, and developmental outcomes. Option c) is the correct one.