Skip to main content
Submitted by admin on 20 August 2020

Everyone has been concerned about the presence of Covid-19 in human milk.  Several other studies as well as this one have found Covid-19 in human milk.   This is the first article I've seen that also studied its ability to induce infection.  The covid in these milk samples was apparently not infectious. 

 

 

Chambers C, Krogstad P, Bertrand K, et al. Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 in Breast Milk From 18 Infected Women. JAMA. Published online August 19, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.15580

Evaluation for SARS-CoV-2 in Breast Milk From 18 Infected Women

Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH1Paul Krogstad, MD2Kerri Bertrand, MPH1et alDeisy Contreras, PhD2Nicole H. Tobin, MD2Lars Bode, PhD1Grace Aldrovandi, MD, CM2

Concern has been raised that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be transmitted to infants by breastfeeding. A number of organizations advise that women infected with SARS-CoV-2 may choose to breastfeed with protections to prevent transmission of the virus through respiratory droplets. Of 24 case reports on breast milk samples from women infected with SARS-CoV-2, viral RNA was detected in 10 samples from 4 women.1-6 In some cases, environmental contamination or retrograde flow from an infected infant could not be ruled out. Detection of viral RNA by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) does not equate with infectivity. To date, SARS-CoV-2 has not been isolated from breast milk, and there are no documented cases of transmission of infectious virus to the infant through breast milk. However, potential for viral transmission through breast milk remains a critical question for women infected with SARS-CoV-2 who wish to breastfeed.