~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Mon, 1 Mar 2010 Ruth Piatak wrote, in part:

Relative risk is something most of us have very little grasp of (just look
at the world of finance these days!).... Is an internet-using, childbearing,
lactating, altruistic,  woman ignorant
of her infection any more likely than, say, a formula factory manager who
wants to adjust the product's protein test with melamine?  Or a formula
factory worker who doesn't disinfect every piece of equipment perfectly
every time?  And if several such women do exist, how many babies are
affected by a given donation?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ruth, taking up the *last* part of your post:

Since consumers assume that the powdered stuff in the cans is sterile, and
don't usually boil the water, contaminated equipment or sneezing or a whole
host of contamination possibilities aren't neutralised when the product is
reconstituted for the individual baby.  Yet, how many of the episodes of
sickness, if they are brief, are ever traced to bacterial contamination of
the product?  There's the assumption that minor gastric or respiratory
infections are a normal part of infancy.  In any case, the assumption that
the factory-made product is sterile is too commonplace for the consumer to
question it.  I doubt if many mothers at home are following the new WHO
guidelines for heating the water.

PS. I've missed some of this discussion and I'm coming into it late, as I've
been without home email all the week, owing to a telephone line fault caused
by rain.  The technician has just restored the line.

Virginia

Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC, FILCA
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
E: [log in to unmask]

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