Breast-Feeding Protects Infantile Diarrhea Caused by Intestinal Protozoan Infections.
- Author:
Ekhlas Hamed ABDEL-HAFEEZ
1
;
Usama Salah BELAL
;
Manal Zaki Mohamed ABDELLATIF
;
Koji NAOI
;
Kazumi NOROSE
Author Information
1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Minia, 61519, Egypt. ekhlasha@yahoo.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Entamoeba histolytica;
Entamoeba dispar;
Giardia lamblia;
Cryptosporidium;
Blastocystis;
breast-feeding;
breast milk;
diarrhea;
intestinal protozoa;
IgE;
TNF-alpha
- MeSH:
Antigens, Protozoan/analysis/*immunology;
Diarrhea, Infantile/*diagnosis/parasitology;
Entamoeba;
Entamoeba histolytica/*isolation & purification;
Entamoebiasis/*diagnosis/parasitology;
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay;
Feces/parasitology;
Female;
Giardia lamblia;
Giardiasis/*diagnosis/parasitology;
Humans;
Infant;
Intestines/parasitology;
Protozoan Infections/*diagnosis/parasitology;
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism
- From:The Korean Journal of Parasitology
2013;51(5):519-524
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
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-alpha 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-alpha 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-alpha 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.
