Absence of infection in breast-fed infants born to hepatitis C virus-infected mothers.
The role of breast-feeding in perinatal transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was explored in 15 HCV-infected mothers and their infants. The 15 carrier mothers had anti-HCV titers ranging from 1:80 to 1:40,000 and also had HCV-ribonucleic acid with concentrations ranging from 10(4) to 2.5 x 10(8) copies/ml. Both anti-HCV antibody and HCV-ribonucleic acid were present in colostral samples in much lower levels, but none of the 11 breast-fed infants had evidence of HCV infection for up to 1 year of age. Thus breast-feeding seems safe for these infants.
Lin
H H
HH
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China.
Kao
J H
JH
Hsu
H Y
HY
Ni
Y H
YH
Chang
M H
MH
Huang
S C
SC
Hwang
L H
LH
Chen
P J
PJ
Chen
D S
DS
D001942:Breast Feeding; D002353:Carrier State / Q000635:transmission*; D003126:Colostrum / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000635:transmission*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral