Read the whole story here.

  http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992174

Mattress bugs may link to cot deaths


19:00 17 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.

<snip>

  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.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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