Throat microflora in breastfed and formula-fed infants.
Most bacterial infections are caused by organisms that are already colonizing the host, and these infections commonly originate at site of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. However, little attention has been focused on the indigenous microflora of the respiratory tract in the infant. We studied the throat microflora of healthy breastfed and formula-fed infants. The incidence of pathogenic bacterial isolation from breastfed infants (1 out of 23) was lower relative to infants fed formula (5 out 14). The dominant bacteria in the throat flora isolated in both breastfed and formula-fed infants were alpha-haemolytic Streptococcus and gamma Streptococcus. These results suggest that breastmilk may be effcacious in preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the throat.
Hokama
T
T
Maternal & Child Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.
Hamamoto
I
I
Takenaka
S
S
Hirayama
K
K
Yara
A
A
Adjei
A
A
D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007225:Infant Food; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000276:immunology; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*