Lynn you wrote,
"As for MRSA and breast milk, the fact is that premies fed MRSA contaminated
breast milk via NG tubes have developed MRSA sepsis and died but the response
to this remains in question. Below is a link to a story from Scotland (i
think) where an almost 6 lb "premie" was isolated from his family d/t MRSA.
www.iomonline.co.uk/ViewArticle2. aspx?SectionID=870&ArticleID=867256"
MRSA is definitely a cause for serious concern for all of us, whether the
concern is professional or personal. But I have to question your statement that
"the facts are that premies fed MRSA contaminated breast milk via NG tubes
have developed MRSA and died..." The article regarding a Dr. Dawn M. Terashita
presenting her findings to the American Society for Microbiology is obviously
media-worthy but there is no research paper available at the moment. Thus we
are dependent on the news article for the facts. (I could not access the
article you posted only the article posted by Jodine, so I cannot comment to that
particular article.)
Why do scientists believe that if you find a microbe in breastmilk that means
it is contaminated and the source of infection for infants? What are the
facts regarding this belief? According to many biotechnologists the mammary
gland is a bioreactor of proteins/antibodies, and thus women naturally produce
"drugs" that are specific to the pathogens in the environment. If this is true
(I assume this is true because the pharmaceutical industry is investing in our
'magic bullets"), then exactly what are we seeing under the microscope? Are we
seeing the process of disease or are we seeing the process of vaccination
(antibody production)? I would think that we should assume that we are seeing a
healthy system that is trying to protect the infant.
There is an interesting article called "Hospital ICU's a breeding place for
bacteria." The article states, " Bacteria can hide anywhere, and they can
collect on clothing, blankets, walls and medical equipment. Hospital workers can
pass them on by hand and they can cling to tubes inserted into the body.
Patients in the ICU are generally the weakest, which puts them at even more risk
for infection." The article also states, "The intensive care unit is the
single most infectious place in the world when it comes to antibiotic resistant
bacteria," A statement made by Dr, Alexander Tomasz of NY's Rockefeller
University, a drug-resistant expert.
http://augustachronicle.com/stories/051997/tech_hospitalbugs.html
How did Dr. Terashita determine that it was breastmilk alone that
contaminated those infants? What kind of contacts did the mother and infant have? Was
the mother pumping only? A number of babies had MRSA exposure in the
particular NICU. Was the mother providing breastmilk to all those other babies, too?
Were these babies getting just human milk or were they also getting fortifiers
or infant formula? Was equipment and NICU staff tested for MRSA? Where these
babies ever at the breast? We don't know because we don't have any facts.
We are depending on the media's presentation of the facts. There are a
number of patents at the US Patent & Trademark Office in which human milk
components lactoferrin and lysozyme are used to inactivate staphlococcus aureus among
other microbes. Thus we have the pharmaceutical industries poised to use
recombinants of human milk components to treat these kind of infections. I believe
Agennix, the company that makes recombinant human lactoferrin, states that
antibiotic resistance to their product has not occurred and will not occurr. We
have the meat industry spraying activated lactoferrin on its meat to prevent
bacterial contamination (specifically mentioning staphylococcus aureus besides
other pathogens). Thus we have the scientific research that shows us that
human milk components inactivate this bacteria and companies have formed to
market the products based on this research. But we will believe without seeing
the research, that MRSA in breastmilk infects babies and kills them? As far as
I am concerned, this is just HIV all over again. The CDC in 1985 based their
policies on HIV and breastfeeding based on 2 letters written to the Lancet (4
cases total). Letters are not research, not peer-reviewed. The foundation of
CDC policy on hiv and breastfeeding rests on what two scientists wrote in two
letters involving 4 cases. Are we going to do the same with MRSA and
breastfeeding?
Valerie W. McClain, breastfeeding advocate
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