Breast-feeding and Salmonella infection
G. L. France, D. J. Marmer and R. W. Steele
Various assays were used to examine chemotaxis, opsonization, phagocytosis,
and killing of Salmonella organisms by colostral and breast-milk
components. Vigorous responses of colostral a;d milk cells against this
organism and nonspecific opsonizing capacity of the aqueous phase of
colostrum and milk were demonstrated. An assay with acridine orange was
used to directly visualize the phagocytic and killing processes; colostral
and milk cells were demonstrated to be more active against Salmonella than
blood neutrophils. In a retrospective survey, a diagnosis of Salmonella
infection was confirmed in 253 infants less then 1 year of age. Only 12
infants had ever been breast-fed, and only one near the time he had the
disease. During the same period of time, 27% of matched control infants
were breast-fed.
