HIV testing, as suggested by someone, seems to me to be too risky. Why? Diagnostic tests for HIV (the ELISA and Western Blot) do not detect HIV itself. They detect only interactions between proteins and the antibodies they think are specific to HIV (there are scientists who believe that HIV has never been isolated and therefore puts all testing into question--Perth Group). One might want to read "What if everything you thought you knew about AIDS WAS WRONG?" by Christine Maggiore which lists the 60 or more factors that can cause a positive result--one being pregnancy in a multiparous women. One of the tests used called enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) that is available to detect the HIV-1 antibody states that in a population with a low prevalence for HIV-1, most positive EIA test results will be false positives. The Western Blot used to confirm EIA positives (appropriate testing for HIV requires at least 2 tests preferable 3 to confirm a positive) needs to be done by qualified labs because it requires high-quality reagents, careful interpretation of the band patterns and rigorous quality control. See: http://www.commhlth.medic.ukm.my/aids/TESTHIV.HTM So I believe that testing every mother that provided breastmilk in that daycare setting seems inappropriate and risky for some mothers (who may receive a false positive). How about the infant being tested? Well what usually is used is the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Test. PCR is used for early detection of perinatally acquired HIV-1 infection. But while its advantage is that it is an extremely sensitive test, it is known that this test results in a high level of false positives. It is also not recommended as a diagnostic test for postexposure diagnosis of HIV infection following needlestick or sexual exposure because of misleading false positive or false negative results. See: http://www.niv.ac.za/essons/current/les10_1.htm All these tests were never intended to be diagnostics. The information on the PCR states, "It must be emphasized that virological diagnosis still largely depends on clinical and epidemiological criteria, with laboratory tests including PCR functioning in a complementary supportive role." http://www.niv.ac.za/essons/current/les10_1.htm The CDC states that the risk is low for an infant given the wrong milk. And I would suggest that testing might create more problems because of false positives. This mother may need to reconsider her use of this daycare facility for her infant. Accidents do happen but this mom stated that she just knew this was going to happen. So she must be seeing other careless acts at this facility. Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC PS: I have to add that various companies in the US are using genetically engineered human lactoferrin to prevent and treat hiv/aids based on studies of real human lactoferrin in human milk. Therefore, maybe the concern is misplaced. Of course in my opinion our health care policy of denying breastfeeding to women who are supposedly hiv-positive is very questionable.... *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html