Megaloblastic Anemia of Infancy Secondary to Maternal Pernicious Anemia

Abstract

IN the United States deficiency of folic acid is the most common cause of megaloblastic anemia of infancy.1 Reports from European centers, predominantly from Italy, suggest that a deficiency of vitamin B12 is a common cause of megaloblastic anemia in infants.2 , 3 The majority of European cases have been reported in breast-fed infants and have responded to administration of vitamin B12 None of the mothers of the infants affected were reported to have pernicious anemia.A comprehensive discussion of megaloblastic anemia of infancy by Zuelzer and Rutzky4 included the notation of a five-month-old breast-fed infant with megaloblastic anemia who . . .