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Mattress bugs may link to cot deaths
10:41 18 April 02
Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition
Baby vomit soaking into foam mattresses might help explain some cot deaths.
Bacteria linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) seem to thrive in
vomit-soaked polyurethane foam, especially if the babies drink formula rather
than breast milk.
Experiments at De Montfort University in Leicester also showed that if the
mattress is disturbed or pressed to mimic a baby's movements, enough bacteria
can rise into the air to cause life-threatening throat infections.
"If the bacteria get into the throat, they colonise the respiratory tract,"
says Richard Sherburn. Once established, the bacteria warm up and can produce
"supertoxins" that trigger the immune system into abnormally severe assaults.
When a baby's evolving immune system overreacts, the infant can die of
anaphylactic shock.
Sherburn and his teammate Richard Jenkins found the effect only in
"non-integral" mattresses made of polyurethane foam. PVC plastic covers
two-thirds of these mattresses, but the final third supporting the baby's
head is covered with a plastic mesh.
After use, these mattresses can be heavily contaminated with bugs, Sherburn
told a meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Warwick last week.
The dominant species in the mattresses was Staphylococcus aureus, a bug often
found in the throats of SIDS babies. And bacterial levels were 100-fold
higher if the baby had vomited formula rather than breast milk.
Clouds of bugs
Echoing earlier research findings, Sherburn confirmed that the abundance of
S. aureus rose with the number of babies that had used the mattress. Other
bacteria that thrive on vomit as well as urine included Bordetella pertussis,
which causes whooping cough, plus Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli
, both capable of producing supertoxins as well.
Mimicking a baby's movement also created clouds of bugs in the air above a
mattress. "Four hours after throwing up, there could be 10,000 bacteria in
the air, enough to cause infection," says Sherburn.
Ironically, non-integral "breathable" mattresses were introduced in the 1990s
to overcome perceived dangers of mattresses fully covered with PVC.
The theory, now largely rejected, was that fungi inside the PVC covering
broke down flame retardants in the plastic and released toxic vapours that
poisoned babies. But Sherburn's work is adding weight to other studies
suggesting breathable mattresses actually pose the highest risks.
"This research supports our advice to keep cot mattresses well-aired and
clean," says a spokeswoman for Britain's Foundation for the Study of Infant
Death. "A mattress with a PVC cover or a removable, washable cover is easiest
to keep clean." However, she adds that there could well be several different
causes of cot death.
Andy Coghlan
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