Breast-Feeding Protects Infantile Diarrhea Caused by Intestinal Protozoan Infections |
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Authors: | Ekhlas Hamed Abdel-Hafeez Usama Salah Belal Manal Zaki Mohamed Abdellatif Koji Naoi Kazumi Norose |
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Affiliation: | 1.Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, 61519, Egypt.;2.Medical Corporation Kohitsujikai, Chiba, 275-0026, Japan.;3.Department of Infection and Host Defense, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8670, Japan. |
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Abstract: | This study investigated the effect of breast-feeding in protection against protozoan infection in infants with persistent diarrhea. Infants were classified into 2 groups; 161 breast-fed infants and the same number of non-breast-fed infants. Microscopic examinations of stool were done for detection of parasites and measuring the intensity of infection. Moreover, serum levels of IgE and TNF-α were measured by ELISA. Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar, Giardia lamblia, and Blastocystis sp. were demonstrated in infants with persistent diarrhea. The percentage of protozoan infections was significantly lower in breast-fed infants than that in the non-breast-fed infants. The levels of IgE and TNF-α were significantly lower in the breast-fed group than in the non-breast-fed group. There were significant positive associations between the serum levels of IgE and TNF-α and the intensity of parasite infection in the breast-fed group. It is suggested that breast-feeding has an attenuating effect on the rate and intensity of parasite infection. |
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Keywords: | Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium, Blastocystis, breast-feeding, breast milk, diarrhea, intestinal protozoa, IgE, TNF-α |
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