Dear Lactnetters, excuse my ignorance, but I was under the impression that a
mom with CMV provides passive immunity to her infant. Does this occur by
passage of antibodies  into the milk, IgM if I am not mistaken, or by
exposure to the virus. Since IgM is the immune component produced in the
greatest quantity by the infant in the first six months , wouldn't it make
since that this baby could receive immune system booster benefits from
mother's milk? I understand that for healtlhy term babes, this rarely causes
a problem, they do seroconvert but rarely develop active disease. Wouldn't it
be theoretically possible for a baby who already has CMV from vertical
transmission that the immune factors in his own mother's milk  would help the
baby mount an immune response to the disorder, or does the amount of CMV
virus isolated from breastmilk pose more of a threat to the infant? Also,
might it be possible as with HIV that there are factors such as fatty acids
and enzymes that deactivate the virus ?Also, does anyone know how long
passive immunity lasts once extrauterine life begins? I assume as long as
breatfeeding is occurring passive immunity is intact, but I am studying for
the exam and cannot find the answer to this question . TIA, This is in
response to Anna's Patient, Lisa Mooney, RN, BSN, CLE

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