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Breast milk is the best way to suppress HIV infection
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Scientists say that breast milk may be the best way to suppress HIV infection. Unknown components or a combination thereof in human milk are capable of killing HIV particles and virus-infected cells, as well as blocking the transmission of HIV in mice with a human immune system.
According to scientists, even if children born to HIV-positive mothers managed to avoid infection during labor, about 15% of them become infected with HIV in early childhood and experts believed that mother's milk here can be one of the suspects.
To investigate, a team of specialists from the University of North Carolina in the United States created laboratory mice whose immune system worked by analogy with the human, after which the cells of the spinal cord, liver and tissues were infected with HIV. However, if the rodents were fed breast milk from HIV-positive women, the virus for unknown reason did not work.
Previous experiments have already shown that breast milk has pronounced antiviral properties, but it was unclear whether it could withstand HIV. "We showed that milk has an innate innate ability to kill HIV," says Project Manager Viktor Garcia. According to him, now we have to hunt for a mysterious ingredient in milk, which can suppress the virus.
If this component is identified, it can also be used to prevent other forms of HIV transmission, particularly sexual transmission.
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