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Coronavirus: Breastfeeding women secrete antibodies into their milk up to 10 months later

Antibodies in breast milk remain for up to ten months after a woman is infected with Covid-19. According to a new US scientific study, women who breastfeeding, who were infected with coronavirus, continue to secrete neutralizing antibodies against the virus in their breast milk for many months afterwards.

In addition to the important protective role for the baby that such can have antibodies, which pass through milk, scientists believe can also be used to treat people with severe Covid-19, preventing further deterioration of their condition.

Although young children are at less risk of serious Covid-19 than older people and those with underlying diseases, about one in ten babies up to one year old will need hospitalization if they become infected.

“This is a breastfeeding population, so it is very important to know if there are antibodies in breast milk, how long they will protect after the infection or whether the vaccine is going to provide the baby with the best antibody protection,” she told the Guardian. researcher Dr. Rebecca Powell of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

How do antibodies work in breast milk?

The antibodies in the breast milk are somewhat different from the IgG antibodies that predominate in the blood and are triggered by it vaccination, although some of the latter are also excreted in breast milk. The main antibody in breast milk is IgA, which helps block the entry of viruses and bacteria into the baby’s body, especially through the respiratory and digestive tracts.

Although other scientists had previously detected antibodies to the coronavirus in breast milk, it was not yet clear how long they remained in it and were able to neutralize the virus. The researchers took samples from the breast milk of 75 women who had recovered from a Covid-19 infection and found that almost nine out of ten (88%) contained IgA antibodies, which in most cases were able to block the infection.

Further analysis found that breastfeeding women released such antibodies into breast milk for up to ten months after their initial infection. “This means that if a mother continues to breastfeed, she will still release these antibodies into her milk,” said Dr. Powell, who presented the results of the research at a scientific breastfeeding symposium.

She estimated that IgA antibodies in breast milk could also benefit adults with severe Covid-19. “It would be unbelievable treatment“, As he said,” because the secreted IgA is manifested in areas with mucous membranes, such as the airway epithelium, where it survives and functions very well. ” He added that “if (the antibody) is used in a nebulizer treatment, it can be very effective during the time window, when someone is quite ill, but has not yet reached the point where he needs to be admitted to an ICU.”

Vaccines and antibodies in breast milk – Moderna’s immune response is better

The researchers also studied the transfer of anti-coronavirus antibodies to the breast milk of 50 women who had previously been vaccinated with Pfizer / BioNTech. Modern or Johnson & Johnson. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were present in all Moderna vaccinators, 87% of those who had Pfizer and 38% of those who had J&J.

The corresponding rates of women with other IgA antibodies in breast milk after vaccination were Moderna 71%, Pfizer 51% and J&J 23%, another indication of the slightly higher immune response elicited by the Moderna vaccine. The immune response to breast milk following the AstraZeneca vaccine is under investigation.

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