Absolutely nothing to do with an Earthquake

Sadly, the Rescue Center existed before the Earthquake. Sadly, thousands of kids died every year from malnutrition in Haiti. Sadly, it will only get worse.

These are two perfect examples of the two forms of malnutrition we see.

This is Darlens. His aunt brought him here because both parents were killed in the Earthquake. He is probably 2-3 years old, has a full set of teeth, is 78 cm tall and weighs 12 pounds. He is suffering from Marasmus.

This is Rose Geurline. She is 6 years old and weighed 33 pounds when she came in. Today she has lost quite a bit of water weight. Her body is extremely swollen and is rotting from the inside out. She is suffering from Kwashiorkor.

These two are poster children for malnutrition. I snagged this excerpt from an article on eMedicine. It does a really great job explaining the difference in the two.

Marasmus is one of the 3 forms of serious protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). The other 2 forms are kwashiorkor (KW) and marasmic KW. These forms of serious PEM represent a group of pathologic conditions associated with a nutritional and energy deficit occurring mainly in young children from developing countries at the time of weaning. Marasmus is a condition primarily caused by a deficiency in calories and energy, whereas kwashiorkor indicates an associated protein deficiency, resulting in an edematous appearance. Marasmic kwashiorkor indicates that, in practice, separating these entities conclusively is difficult; this term indicates a condition that has features of both.

These conditions are frequently associated with infections, mainly GI. The reasons for a progression of nutritional deficit into marasmus rather than kwashiorkor are unclear and cannot be solely explained by the composition of the deficient diet (ie, a diet deficient in energy for marasmus and a diet deficient in protein for kwashiorkor). The study of these phenomena is considerably limited by the lack of an appropriate animal model. Unfortunately, many authors combine these entities into one, thus precluding a better understanding of the differences between these clinical conditions.

These sweet kiddos are in extremely critical condition. Pray for a miracle.

Like I said, absolutely nothing to do with an Earthquake.