Tamara,
I looked in my sixth edition of Breastfeeding, A Guide for the Medical 
Profession by Drs. Ruth & Robert Lawrence and on page 637 under "pertussis" 
it says "No evidence indicates transmission through breastmilk,..." and on 
page 675 under RSV it talks about respiratory droplet transmission and says 
"Therefore, risk of RSV transmission from breastmilk is probably 
insignificant compared with transmission via direct or droplet contact in 
families."

Breastmilk will be protective with exposure to these diseases - Formula 
offers no protection at all.

I highly recommend the book [I have no financial interest in it]
Gail
Gail S. Hertz, MD, IBCLC
[log in to unmask]

Tamara writes:
> Hi, I've been a lurker on the list since joining a few months ago.  I'm a 
> relatively new LLL Leader in Miami, FL.  I've been reading the discussion 
> on wet nursing with interest, and then I got a phone call about the topic 
> today.  It was not a LLL call, rather, it was from a friend who has been 
> pumping for a family member.  I told her I would ask on the list, so the 
> short story is that the pediatrician advised mom not to use the pumped 
> milk because it could transmit pertussis and RSV to the baby.  I haven't 
> done a lot of research on breastmilk and disease transmission, I have just 
> read some about HIV and active tuberculosis transmission.  Does anyone 
> know if pertussis and RSV can be transmitted through breastmilk and have a 
> reference?  What I found in a brief search talked about the protective 
> qualities of breast milk and these diseases (shocking!).
>
>  Thanks,
>  Tamara Cohen
>  Miami, FL
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