Here are two references you may find helpful. Medical Issues Related to Caring for Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Children In and Out of the Home R. J. Simmonds, MD and Stephen Chanock, MD From Pediatr Infect Dis J, 1993;12:845-52 PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS INFECTIONS. Edited by Philip A. Pizzo, M.D., and Catherine M. Wilfert, M.D. Although universal precautions do not apply to human breast milk or saliva, some precautions against exposure to these fluids may be necessary. Because breast feeding has been implicated in the transmission of HIV infection from mother to infant, the use of gloves should be considered in situations, such as milk banks, where exposure to human breast milk is extensive. Gloves should also be worn for contact with oral mucosa, for endotracheal suctioning and for other oropharyngeal procedures that involve exposure to blood-contaminated saliva. Gloves do not need to be worn when feeding a child with bottled formula or breast milk or cleaning oral secretions that do not contain visible blood. However, gloves should be worn when changing diapers that contain bloody stools and when handling other body fluids with visible blood. Gloves may also be necessary to prevent transmission of enteric and other pathogens, and of course hands should always be washed immediately after handling any body fluid, whether or not gloves are worn. http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/cdcrecommends/showarticle.asp? a_artid=P0000891&TopNum=50&CallPg=Adv#head003002000000000 Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, and Other Blood-borne Pathogens in Health-Care Settings MMWR 37(24);377-388 Publication date: 06/24/1988 Precautions for Other Body Fluids in Special Settings Human breast milk has been implicated in perinatal transmission of HIV, and HBsAg has been found in the milk of mothers infected with HBV (10,13). Occupational exposure to human breast milk has not been implicated in the transmission of HIV nor HBV infection to health-care workers. The health-care worker will not have the same type of intensive exposure to breast milk as the nursing neonate. U universal precautions do not apply to human breast milk, gloves may be worn by health-care workers in situations where exposures to breast milk might be frequent, for example, in breast milk banking. http://www.west.net/~ccolt/hospital01/safety/infectioncontrol/prevention% 20cdc.htm *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] 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