Having AIDS is one of the reasons why it is recommended not to breastfeed a baby and therefore give artificial milk to replace it.
It seems that it will cease to be a contraindication since American scientists have developed a method that prevents the spread of AIDS in breastfed children.
Researchers at Lavax, in Illinois, have managed to isolate a strain of prebiotic lactic bacteria that normally inhabit the oral cavity, similar to yogurt or kefir. These bacteria have the ability to capture the human immunodeficiency virus by subjecting it to its "envelope."
The bacterium grows and reproduces in the milk, therefore with a simple inoculation in the baby the protection is guaranteed until weaning.
The main recipients of this finding are, by boat soon, developing countries, (if not poor) because they do not have access to formula milk, drinking water or minimum hygiene measures that can ensure survival To the babies. That is why, even though the mother has AIDS, Breastfeeding a baby with the risk of infection is a minor evil.
The only problem is that the strain does not survive more than 4 weeks at temperatures above 33 degrees and in Africa they are not precisely left over from refrigerators.
Luckily, the same scientists have found a protective agent that allows the strain to be preserved for 12 weeks.
Hopefully this system will be launched as soon as possible and, more importantly, that its cost is low enough so that it really reaches those who need it most.
