A message board I frequent has discussed the smallpox vaccine and the
breastfeeding mother recently. From what I understand (and I read in the
lactnet archives), the danger is from the virus escaping the innoculation
site and infecting people in the same household. Obviously a nursing infant
is in a closer proximity than other members of the household. I also
understand that antibodies are passed to the infant through the mother's
milk, which act in a protective but not necessarily preventive nature.
Someone wanted to know (and has sent a question to the CDC) about the
possibility of the mother passing antibodies through her milk to keep the
child from becoming infected. This brings the question to my mind, how
quickly does a mother form antibodies that are passed in the milk after
innoculation? Have there been studies on this? I'm looking for general
information on vaccination and not necessarily those directly studying
smallpox. I also realize that different viruses react differently, but I just
want to have a general idea how this works. My guess is that the infant could
not receive antibodies in time to help them from getting the virus if they
were infected, but I have no science behind this opinion. I do not have
access to a medical library at this time, so Internet references or snipits
from printed material would be helpful.

Thanks,
Chanda Taylor

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