Francoise, Q fever is considered a zoonotic disease (spread to humans by infected animals). Has Mother-To-Child-Transmission(MTCT) of Coxiella burnetti (the bacterium responsible for Q fever) been proven? According to a New South Wales (Australia) Public Health Sheet, "the disease is transfered to humans when they inhale droplets contaminated with the bacteria and produced during the slaughter of an infected animal or through the waste products (urine, faeces, milk, and birth by products of an infected animals)." This seems to be an occupational hazard of people who work with livestock. The factsheet goes on to say that there are antibiotics that are effective against Coxiella burnetti. http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/phb/HTML2002/aug02html/factsheetqfe ver.html Secretory IgA is known to be active against Coxiella burnetti in vitro and the component Heparin in human milk is active against chlamydia in vitro. So I guess I have a number of questions regarding the decision to advise against breastfeeding. If the mother is treated with antibiotics while pregnant (and they say antibiotics are effective), wouldn't the baby also be treated? How would this disease be a threat by breastfeeding, if the mother is treated? (This factsheet states that "usually people with an acute infection make a full recovery and rarely have a second attack of the disease.") I think some assumptions have been made without evidence. While Q fever is spread by the milk of livestock animals, what proof is that human milk transfers this bacteria to the infant? And even if human milk transfers this bacteria, does it cause infection? It would seem highly likely that human milk offers protective elements similar to vaccination against this disease. (rather important since this mother is a farmer and her children will be growing up in an environment where exposure to this disease will be very likely) More importantly, what are the health consequences of not being breastfed? We know they are significant even in developed countries. Do the consequences of not breastfeeding outweigh the theoretical risks of Q fever for the infant? This mother needs a second or third medical opinion in regard to this situation. Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC *********************************************** 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