Breastmilk Potential Stop HIV

breastmilk-potential-stop-hiv

Researchers have discovered that antibodies that help stop HIV has been found in breast milk. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center, isolating antibodies from immune cells called B cells in breast milk from infected mothers in Malawi. Seen that B cells in breast milk can produce antibodies that inhibit the virus causes AIDS.

HIV-1 can be transmitted from mother to child through breast milk. This creates a challenge for experts to make safe baby feeding in areas vulnerable to HIV. However, only one out of 10 HIV-infected breastfeeding mother is able to infect it to their babies.

Senior researcher Sallie Permar, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and communicable diseases at Duke says, “we ask is there an immune response that protects the baby up to 90 percent. In doing so, we make use of them to develop prophylactic immune system during breastfeeding to mothers infected with HIV-1. Our research showed that B cells in breast milk produce antibodies. In the future, this could be used as a vaccine”.

These findings can also help researchers identify it’s transmission to adults.