Scientists have found antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 both in breast milk and in the stool of breastfed babies.
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New research indicates the possibility of passive immunity of babies against coronavirus. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst measured the immune response to an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 in breast milk and in the stools of infants who were fed this milk. They found that antibodies appear in children regardless of age – from 1.5 to 23 months.
“This is the first study that found antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in infant stool samples, provided that they were fed by vaccinated mothers. Analysis of the data shows that antibodies are transmitted through breast milk. This may motivate women to continue breastfeeding after vaccination,” emphasizes lead author Vinesh Narayanaswami.
The study involved 30 breastfeeding women. Each of them received a COVID-19 vaccine between January and April 2021.
Nursing mothers provided breast milk samples before vaccination, two to three weeks after the first dose of vaccine, and three weeks after the second dose. The women also donated blood samples. Infant stool samples were collected 21 days after the second maternal vaccination.
All materials have been tested for the presence of antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD), immunoglobulin (Ig)A and IgG. Anti-RBD IgG and anti-RBD IgA antibodies were found in 33% and 30% of infant stool samples, respectively. The antibody levels correlated with the side effects from the vaccination that the mother experienced. The worse the woman felt after the injection, the higher the level of antibodies in her child's stool.
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