Background: Malnutrition is a public health problem in the entire world, particularly in the developing countries. The effect of Spiruline supplement in the weight recovery of HIV-negative and HIV-infected undernourished children has been largely demonstrated. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of Spiruline on the immune status of 46 HIV-infected undernourished children, aged 15 + 5 months, and of 23 undernourished HIV-negative children, aged 14 + 6 months. Methodology: The duration of this study was eight weeks. To assess immune functions a count of CD4 lymphocyte subpopulation was performed before and after introducing the Spiruline supplement. Results: The degree of anemia improved in all the children, but the effect was less evident among HIV-infected children; in fact, 81% of HIV-negative versus 62% of HIV-infected children showed signs of improvement. The mean values of CD4 lymphocyte subpopulation showed a consistent increment in HIV-negative children [from 1257 (range 531-2301) to 1562 (range 798-2552) mm3] while they showed an irregular increase in HIV-infected children [from 1339 (152-4000) to 2088 (244-4214) mm3]. Conclusions: The improvement of the immunological status due to Spiruline treatment might represent an effective barrier against infectious diseases, which both cause and result from malnutrition in underdeveloped countries.

Spiruline, CD4 lymphocytes, undernourished children, HIV