Breastfeeding protects infants against human viruses even when mixed with formula
Breastmilk strongly influences the accumulation of viral populations in the infant gut and provides a protective effect against potentially pathogenic viruses;
PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that even small amounts of breastmilk strongly influences the accumulation of viral populations in the infant gut and provides a protective effect against potentially pathogenic viruses.
Another conclusion from this work was that breastmilk could be protective even if sometimes mixed with formula, compared to a with formula-only diet.
The findings expand upon prior research that suggests that breastfeeding plays a key role in the interaction between babies and the microbial environment. This latest research could influence strategies for the prevention of early gastrointestinal disorders, and encourage mothers to feed babies breastmilk even when mixed with formula. The findings are published in Nature.
Penn researchers measured the numbers and types of viruses in the first stool -- meconium -- and subsequent stools of newborns in the United States and Botswana using advanced genome sequencing and other methods. Upon delivery, babies had little or no colonization, but by one month of life populations of viruses and bacteria were well developed, with numbers of viruses reaching a billion per gram of gut contents.
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