Growth of Bacteriain Vitroin Blood from Patients with Severe Iron Deficiency Anemia and from Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia

Iron and infection.

“…The former could be converted to a "static" environnent simply by adding apotransferrin; the latter could be converted to a "growth" environment merely by adding iron (42). In an analogous experiment, hyperferremic blood from sickling patients supported a 31-fo d increase in growth of S. aureus over sampled from normal persons (132).…”

“…In a different study, of persons with Hb values of <10 g/dl, 60% of 65 patients with adequate iron stores had bacterial infections, whereas only 8% of 87 patients with low iron stores were infected (131,132). Unfortunately, plasma iron and transferrin iron saturation values were not obtained, nor were data reported concerning the incidence of infection in persons in the same environment but whose Hb values were ?10 g/dl.…”

Iron deficiency in children undergoing adenoid-tonsillectomy

“…On the other hand there is both experimental and clinical evidence to suggest that unsaturated transferrin competes for the binding of vital iron radicals with similar polypeptides known as siderophores which are produced by various bacteria, this resulting in a lack of freely available iron (Jackson and Morris, 1961;Fletcher, 1971;Masawe and Nsanzumuhire, 1973;Lancet, 1974) and consequently a decreased bacterial proliferation; the diminished serum iron level associated with the availability of free transferrin which is associated with some chronic infections therefore has a potentially protective function (Barrett-Connor, 1972). It also has been shown that patients suffering from the anaemia associated with abundant iron stores, like pernicious anaemia and the chronic haemolytic anaemias, have a higher frequency of infections when compared with sjderopoenic anaemias (Elin and Wolff, 1974;Lancet, 1974).…”

“…Furthermore, effective treatment of iron-deficiency may produce acute exacerbations of chronic infective processes (e.g. chronic urinary tract infections, malaria) (Elin and Wolff, 1974;Masawe et al, 1974); under experimental situations the growth of relatively avirulent bacteria may also be enhanced by the parenteral administration of iron (Fletcher et al, 1974;Masawe and Nsanzumuhire, 1973;Lancet, 1974).…”

Iron, infection and immune function

“…In contrast, in some cases Fe deprivation promotes the virulence of pathogens. Thus, Corynebacterium diphtheria, Clostridium tetani, Shigella and Psuedomonas produce their toxins optimally under conditions of Fe deprivation (Masawe & Nsanzumhire, 1973). Indeed, the use of Fe salts for the local treatment of diphtherial pharyngitis was a common practice in the 19th century.…”