Hospitalization and Mortality Among Primarily Nonbreastfed Children During a Large Outbreak of Diarrhea and Malnutrition in Botswana, 2006

Most of the severe morbidity and mortality in this outbreak occurred in children who were HIV negative and not breastfed. Feeding and nutritional factors were the most important determinants of severe illness and death. Breastfeeding is critical to infant survival in the developing world, and support for breastfeeding among HIV-negative women, and HIV-positive women who cannot formula feed safely, may prevent further high-mortality outbreaks.