Nya studier visar att bröstmjölk kan skydda mot HIV.
I Sverige avråder man HIV-smittade kvinnor från att amma på grund av smittorisken, men nu visar nya studier att bröstmjölk kan döda HIV-virus och istället faktiskt skydda barnet från att bli smittat.
“This study provides significant insight into the amazing ability of breast milk to destroy HIV and prevent its transmission,” said J. Victor Garcia, PhD, senior author on the study and professor of medicine in the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases and the UNC Center for AIDS Research.
“It also provides new leads for the isolation of natural products that could be used to combat the virus.”
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“These results are highly significant because they show that breast milk can completely block oral transmission of both forms of HIV that are found in the breast milk of HIV-infected mothers: virus particles and virus-infected cells,” said Angela Wahl, PhD, a post-doctoral researcher in Garcia’s lab and lead author on the paper.
“No child should ever be infected with HIV because it is breastfed. Breastfeeding provides critical nutrition and protection from other infections, especially where clean water for infant formula is scarce,” Garcia said.
“Understanding how HIV is transmitted to infants and children despite the protective effects of milk will help us close this important door to the spread of AIDS.”
Detta betyder dock inte att mamman kan förlita sig på enbart bröstmjölken, och utesluta skyddet hon och barnet får av mediciner. Amning i kombination med läkemedel för både mamman och barnet rekommenderas av WHO.
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Cooolt!