Dear colleagues,
   Regarding an earlier discussion on Lactnet concerning chicken pox and
shingles, I have some new information from the NJ LLL Health Professional
Conference. Dr. Allan Arbeter, the head of the Dept. of Pediatrics, Einstein
Med Center in Philly who specializes in infectious diseases and
was one of the researchers on the chickenpox vaccine presented this
information.  He stated that if the mother has shingles but not in areas
where the baby would come in direct contact with the lesions, the baby will
be adequately protected by transplacentally transferred antibodies and the
mother can breastfeed.  On the other hand, if either the mother has
chickenpox, or she has shingles on an area where the baby would come in
contact with the lesions, then the mother should not breastfeed.  In the
case of the mother contracting chickenpox, she would not have had immunity
to pass onto the infant.  In the case of the mother having shingles (which
as has been discussed previously is a reactivation of the chicken pox virus
(herpes zoster)) where the baby will contact the lesions, the transferred
immunity could be inadequate and overwhelmed by the virus.
   I hope this is helpful.          Sarah Chaikin, IBCLC
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