Effect of Freeze‐Thawing Breast Milk on Vertical HTLV‐I Transmission from Seropositive Mothers to Children

Abstract

Breast feeding is known to be a major cause of vertical transmission of HTLV‐I from mothers to her children. The infectiousness of HTLV‐I in breast milk was reported to be lost during freezing and thawing processes. We therefore administered frozen‐and‐thawed breast milk of HTLV‐I carriers to their babies. Among the 13 babies given the frozen‐and‐thawed breast milk (now 12 months of age), no infection has been found yet. This result suggests that freezing and thawing of breast milk is a promising method for the prevention of vertical HTLV‐I infection to breast‐fed babies. Copyright © 1989, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved