To      : Barb Berges
Re      : Alpha Interferon

In response to your question on alpha interferon,  I have just complete
assaying interferon transfer into human milk in a mom who received 30
million units per day for a week.  We are in the process of publishing this
data, but I will give you a little preview.

We then assayed alpha interferon levels in milk using a very sensitive
biological assay...and found that even after a dose of 30 million units,
none was transferred into milk.  I sort of expected this result.

Interferon is a rather large molecule and is almost instantly removed from
the plasma compartment by the liver, kidney and other tissues.

Interferon use in breastfeeding moms should not be problematic.

Regards

Tom Hale, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics