considered to be responsible, in part, for the diarrhoea-
induced weight faltering. In Keneba, Gambia,
it was also demonstrated that diarrhoea was the main
cause of weight faltering in children aged 6 months
to 3 years (27). Similar results have been obtained in
other studies. In longitudinal studies of the effects of
infectious diseases on physical growth of infants in
Huascar, an underprivileged peri-urban community
in Lima, the average weights during the first five-tosix
months of life approximated those of the NCHS
reference population; thereafter, the average weight
declined relative to the reference data, and the rates
of stunting and wasting increased progressively
during the first year of life (31). A study of the population
of a Guatemalan village also revealed that the
incidences of infectious diseases, particularly diarrhoeal
diseases, were extremely high during the weaning
period (6-24 months) and that infectious diseases