Stockholm, August 19 (HNA) – The breast milk of women who have become infected with the coronavirus contains important antibodies against the coronavirus. The discovery was made by researchers from the Emma Children’s Hospital of Amsterdam UMC.
The breast milk of women who have become infected with the coronavirus contains important antibodies against the coronavirus. The discovery was made by researchers from the Emma Children’s Hospital of Amsterdam UMC.
The antibodies in breast milk were also still present after the milk was heated, the researchers report in a press release. According to the researchers, this is important, because only after heating (pasteurization) the breast milk is usable for others.
Further research is needed to find out whether breast milk can be used to prevent COVID-19 infections, for example in vulnerable groups such as the elderly. According to Hans van Goudoever, head of the Emma Children’s Hospital, it looks hopeful. “We think that after drinking the milk, the antibodies attach themselves to the surface of our mucous membranes. There they attack the virus particles before they enter the body.”
The Emma Children’s Hospital of Amsterdam UMC is now recruiting a thousand women to donate breast milk. The researchers want to use this to determine what percentage of the milk contains antibodies. Women who do not or do not know that they have become infected can also register. “Women who have been infected with corona unnoticed may also have produced antibodies that can be found in the milk.”
The research is a collaboration with the Dutch Mother Milk Bank, the Experimental Virology department, Wageningen Research & Development, Utrecht University, Sanquin and Viroclinics.