With breast milk, pathogens can be transmitted and cause the corresponding disease in the children, with different manifestations of the course of the disease. One of the most important pathogens in this context is cytomegalovirus (CMV). It is one of the most common viral diseases transmitted via breast milk.
If an infected mother breastfeeds, the viruses are excreted in the breast milk for a longer period of time approximately two to three weeks after birth. However, the child has so-called maternal surrogate antibodies, so that the infection is asymptomatic and does not leave any damage in the mature newborn. Consequently, breastfeeding does not have to be restricted or discontinued.
If the infection occurred intrauterine (“in the womb”), premature babies or babies with too low a body weight can also be breastfed without restriction.
The situation is different for immature premature infants (< 32nd week of gestation or lighter than 1,200 or 1,500 g) who are not infected intrauterine. They do not yet have adequate immunocompetence or have not received passive immunization via the placenta. The onset of the disease is initially mild. Here, the transmitted CVM infection may manifest as a generalized infection. Possible sequelae of postnatal infection may include:
Respiratory system (J00-J99)
- Pleurisy (pleurisy).
- Pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs)
Cardiovascular system (I00-I99)
- Atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis, hardening of the arteries).
- Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle)
Mouth, esophagus (esophagus), stomach, and intestines (K00-K67; K90-K93).
- Sialadenitis (infection in the first year of life shows only 10% salivary gland involvement).
Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).
- Arthritis (inflammation of the joints)
Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99)
- Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) with calcifications, which in turn can lead to seizures, paralysis, or similar conditions
- Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS; synonyms: Idiopathic polyradiculoneuritis, Landry-Guillain-Barré-Strohl syndrome); two courses: acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (disease of the peripheral nervous system); idiopathic polyneuritis (diseases of multiple nerves) of the spinal nerve roots and peripheral nerves with ascending paralysis and pain; usually occurs after infections.
Further
- General weakness that may last for several months
Suitable agents for virustatic therapy are ganciclovir or valganciclovir. Late damage such as sensorineural hearing loss or intelligence reduction are possible.
One way of killing the pathogen in breast milk is pasteurization (heating the breast milk to 62.5 °C for 30 minutes). However, this also destroys protective (protective) and bioactive ingredients in the breast milk.
